Alessia’s Guide to Surviving the Vampire Diaries (updating)
by Lexxwonder
Summary: A girl finds herself reborn as Bonnie’s older sister. She refuses to have her family suffer for some silly doppelgänger. How will she protect her family from the mess that’s coming to Mystic Falls? And why are all of her enemies so hot?
1. One

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**A/n: Hi, all, and welcome to the updating version of AGTSTVD! Thank you so much for coming, and I'm sorry for the notifications you're gonna get from me posting all of these chapters once they all look pretty.**

**It's kinda funny, it feels like I'm starting over, lol.**

**But, let's go round two, please enjoy my more aesthetically pleasing edition. Also, let me know if the links are working, otherwise what's the point? Haha.**

**Also, for the people just waiting for the newest chapter, you're waiting for an email link for Chapter 33 on this book. **

**———**

**Kalopsia: **_def. _the delusion of things being more beautiful than they are.

**———**

**Chapter 1: Oh, boy.**

**———**

Blurs of white and blue fly by my limited vision as I try to gasp for air.

My throat feels raw and unused, like I need to clear my throat but don't have the muscular control to. Something firm passes through my mouth, clearing the film away, leaving my very confused self to call for help, an explanation, anything. All that I hear in my stuffed ears is the shrill cry of an infant, and that's when it clicks.

I know exactly where I am and what's happened.

My soul has once again made its way through the circle of life back to the Genesis.

So, we start the carousel once again. I'm sure you can probably guess what I mean by this, but long story short, this isn't my first time waking up to this chaos.

I don't recall precisely what my prior lives were, who I was, who I cared about. The overwhelming feeling of deja vú is too strong to ignore, and I feel an innate sense of how _wrong _it was that I was very aware of my situation. I wonder how much I actually _know. _Clearly, I still had an adult level intellect, and I didn't _really _remember my lives, but I definitely remembered things that were in them. Like doctors, and mothers, and the tv that I heard in the corner of the delivery room.

There was no way this was normal, but I guess it was normal for me since I felt myself calm as I was cleaned and wrapped in a soft swaddle and placed in the nurturing arms of a brown blur.

The shape of a large hand enters my field of vision and for some reason I recognize it as my father's.

_Perhaps he had talked to me while I was in the womb_? Laid his hands on my mother's stomach? Who knows.

I purse my small lips at the feeling of his rough skin caressing my small cheek. The sensation is strange since it's so new, but not unwelcome, and I use my limited movement to grasp his large knuckle when he presses it into my palm. His hands feel _enormous_.

"She's _beautiful, _Abby. God, you did wonderful, sweetheart," his rough voice calls out, presumably to the brown blob on the white blob.

_Thank God, I'm a girl! I guess Abby is my mother's name, then._

I hear the murmurs of the doctors and nurses as well, but ignore it as I strain to hear the tired sighs from the brown blur in my vision.

"Bring her to me, Rudy baby, I wanna hold her before I take a nap."

_Who names their son 'Rudy'? Poor guy. _

I feel a small breeze and enjoy the sway of my father's swagger as he walks to my mother.

I'm then cradled by much softer hands, and I feel something wet splash my cheek as my mother blur sniffles above me. Her murmurs of how happy she is to see me, and how I was worth the late nights and morning sickness, bring me such joy that a small smile pulls on the unused muscles on my face and I try to coo at her, successfully making a weird 'ah' sound.

My mom shudders above me with emotion, and I realize that I'm so happy to make her happy.

This feels oddly familiar as well. I guess that the bond between parents and children is forged very early on, because I already loved them both quite a bit.

A blue smudge comes up to my mother, and I can see what I think is a smile as it looks at me before turning back to my mom.

"Have you decided on her name yet; Mrs. Bennett?"

_Huh, Abby and Rudy Bennett. Why does that sound familiar? Maybe I've lived _this _life before. _

My mother sighs happily, looking down at me once again.

"Alessia Marie Bennett."

Well, I can work with that.

———

It didn't take me too long to figure out what kind of world I had been reborn into. Bonnie Sheila Bennett was born February 5, 1993, a year and 3 days after me.

I had a bit of a panic when she had been brought home, when I realized that I had full knowledge of what was going to happen to our family, and our loved ones.

We Bennetts were destined for a life of heartbreak and loss. We'd lose our Grams, Mom, Dad, and many others in the supernatural downward spiral that would be Mystic Falls in the not too distant future. And all for one little girl named Elena Gilbert.

I remember that the first time Bonnie had Elena over for a play date when I was 5, I had firmly decided that I was not going to allow for my loved ones to be taken from me just so she could live.

Call me selfish— I honestly don't care— but, for me to make it out of the shit storm headed our way with minimal casualties there would have to be _major _changes.

And unfortunately, changing the future that I was aware of had a significant amount of risk as well— that being that once I did change something big I'd have no idea how it'd effect the rest of the future.

I didn't even know how much having _me _here would change what I knew now. The best I'd be able to do is change only a few things in a big way. I wouldn't be able to save everyone, and that was a difficult pill to swallow. I played with the majority of the main players of Mystic Falls as a child. Tyler Lockwood, Caroline Forbes, Matt and Vicki Donovan, Jeremy Gilbert, these were all my friends as we all grew up. It was difficult weight to carry to know that these happy times were very close to their end.

So, I had to prepare, and to do that, I'd have to be the baddest Bennett witch bitch this world had ever seen.

Definitely not an easy task, especially with my father being so distinctly anti-magic, and my mother still leaving because she picked the Gilbert doppelgänger over her family, but I refused to let his ignorance and her stupidity be our downfall. It just meant they weren't as high on my survival list.

You can call me a bad person, but I value loyalty more than any other trait, and their blatant abandonment of me and Bonnie to our alcoholic Grams wouldn't be easily forgiven.

Speaking of Grams, that was one facet of the story I changed as soon as possible. I knew that Grams could tell I was unique, as she always eyed me with a gleam of suspicion in her old dark eyes. Perhaps her magic could sense there was something about me that wasn't quite right, like an extra puzzle piece that didn't fit.

So, when I finally felt my magic spark to life at the age of 7, I went straight to her and demanded answers.

To say that she was surprised would be saying the least, as she hadn't expected my magic to awaken till I was at least 13, and that was just the age for gifted witches.

I remember saying a silent thank-you to the universe for giving me the gift of being a prodigy— it gave me time I desperately needed.

She agreed to teach me, but only with the contingency that I don't tell Bonnie, and believe me it was difficult to hide anything from those large perceptive green eyes.

I hesitantly agreed.

Mostly because I knew Bonnie wouldn't _really_ get into magic until she was fifteen, and if I was strong enough by then, I could probably teach her myself.

And let me tell you, being gifted with Nature's power was not small potatoes.

When I was sad, the wind would try to comfort me, I could feel the power of life all around me, beckoning me to use it. The connection to the Earth was so intense that I could see why witches went insane when they lost it. With any luck I'd walk out of this mess with my magic, because I don't know what I'd do without it's influence in me. Grams also said that because my magic was so strong so young, me losing that connection could actually kill me.

That was also another realization I had to think about for quite sometime.

There was a good chance that I would die within the next 10 years.

Vampires, enemy witches, vengeful werewolves, Originals, Travelers, Expression, there were so many things that could kill me if I wasn't careful where I stepped. Bonnie was going to need me to look after her, I refused to let her be the self-sacrificing doormat that she'd been in my memories. She would sacrifice herself for that doppelgänger over my _rotting corpse. _

But, then again who knew?

That might be the case at some point. So, it was important that I wasn't _just _a strong witch, I also had to be lethal if magic wasn't an option against my enemies. This driving force resulted in me getting enrolled into several martial arts and weapons courses when I was 10. I'm sure on the outside it looked like I was an overachiever, but oh well.

The next six years passed and me and Bonnie were as thick as thieves. Most of my time when I wasn't training or doing schoolwork (and eventually cheerleading, so I could effectively keep an eye on the main girls), I was with her, and this led to a sibling bond I wouldn't replace with anything in the world. My magic was strong and so was I. I wasn't sure if I'd ever truly be ready to face what was coming in the next year, but I was determined to try.

———

Today was it. The start of my senior year and the start of Bonnie's junior year signaled the entrance of the Salvatores. Tingles trickled up and down my spine at the nerves circling my gut like a hawk. With a sigh, I sat up out of bed and walked over to my closet, grabbing a pair of skinny jeans, a light pink camisole, and a cute faux leather jacket.

_We respect animals in THIS household, _I chuckled to myself as I walked out of my room to the shower, only to hear "Walking On Sunshine" blaring from the bathroom.

Not hearing the shower on, I loudly knock on the door.

"Bons! Hurry up! I wake an hour after you so that you can take forever _earlier, _and I can go to school not sleep-gross."

I hear her laugh from the other side of the door before it suddenly opens, causing me to jump a bit. Bright green eyes sparkle teasingly as Bonnie laughs at my slightly surprised face before exiting the bathroom.

"It's all yours, Lessy. Hurry up though, we have to pick up Elena." I roll my eyes at that, as Bonnie good-naturedly smacks my shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll stop for coffee so you can tolerate my _best friend._"

She's very aware that my regard for Elena didn't start high, and has lowered significantly through our teen years as I watched her play Matt and adapt an 'I'm better than you' attitude— specifically towards my favorite girl, Caroline, which caused the blonde to develop a bit of an inferiority complex.

"Kk, I'll be out in 15," I say blandly before closing the door in my lovely little sister's face. The hot water running down my back provides the perfect setting to do some light meditation to calm my mind.

There was a _lot _to do today, and I needed to stay focused.

When I opened my light brown eyes, I realized that I focused a bit too much.

The water from the showerhead was hovering around the entirety of the bathroom, and I couldn't stop the sigh of annoyance from escaping me.

Magic was pretty cool or whatever but unconsciously doing things was just irritating to deal with, like setting your remote too far away from you, an inconvenience. I quickly send the water down the drain as I hop out of the shower with renewed vigor. As I wiped off the steamy mirror, I took a good look at myself.

Not to be too vain, but us Bennetts had _great _genes.

Large plump pink lips, cute straight button nose, and large caramel eyes framed by thick dark lashes looked back at me. My favorite features are my high cheekbones and my honey skin tone, they made me feel very elegant and powerful looking. Second place would definitely go to my hair though.

Bonnie acknowledged the time and relaxes her hair regularly, while I decided to keep my bouncy curls that came to my shoulders and fluffed outwards. Definitely not an Afro, but definitely not flat. Don't let it be said that I didn't fry my hair, too though. At the moment it was dyed a platinum blonde, nearly white.

I quickly pull my hair into a half-up, half-down do, before pulling a few curls out to frame my face. Some mascara, eyeliner, lipgloss, and concealer for my under eyes and your girl was lookin' cute and ready for war.

Unfortunately, in my hubris I'd forgotten to put on my clothes and had to rush to throw them on without messing up the work I'd done.

A quick glance at the time, and the sound of footsteps coming towards the bathroom told me I was running _slightly _behind schedule. I bolt out of the bathroom, nearly trampling Bonnie, and speed to grab my socks, boots, backpack, and cheer duffle bag.

Caroline would have my _ass _if I forgot my workout gear again.

I pass Bonnie again as she grabs her purse and keys from her bedroom, and just like that we're out the door and ready to face the fire.

———

"Don't worry, I'll hop in the back once Gilbert gets in," I say to Bons as we exit the coffee shop.

I might not like the doppelgänger, but that doesn't mean I don't pity the loss she and her brother are going through.

"Thanks, I just think she's gonna pretend like she's okay when everyone knows that she's not," Bonnie replies gratefully.

That's my sweet, compassionate sister, always caring about everyone.

The drive to the Gilberts is in comfortable silence as we listen to the radio and drink our Frappuccinos. What? Just cause I'm a badass doesn't mean I like _all _stereotypical badass stuff. Black coffee is just gross.

We pull into the driveway and I promptly plant my ass in the back seat, pulling out my iPod and starting to listen to music. I see Jenna rush out of the house with a stack of papers and looking flustered.

_Hope she's okay. Yikes. _

Elena finally hops in and I immediately know she is _not _okay.

And considering my witchy woo doesnt include empathic abilities, that's saying a _lot_.

I stare out the window as we drive to school, watching the hustle and bustle of early morning Mystic Falls. I can tell when I glance back at Bonnie that she's talking about Grams starting to reveal our witch heritage to her by the disbelief painted on her face as she talks to a not-really-paying-attention Elena.

The windshield is suddenly struck by a crow, causing Bonnie to slam on the brakes and send my head straight for the back of the passenger seat and my headphones careening out of my ears. We swerve hard to the right of the road, and all of us look at each other for a few moments before Bonnie speaks up.

"What was _that?!_ Oh my god! Elena, are you okay?"

I'm still stunned for a few seconds and it appears Elena is too. I unconsciously start fixing my now messed up hair as Elena turns back to Bons, "Its okay, I'm fine."

"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere."

"I think it was a crow or a raven or something," I say absentmindedly.

I feel a glare working onto my face as an uneasy feeling of 'this has Damon dickery all over it' worked through my gut.

Looks like I'd have to pay a complimentary visit to said Salvatore much sooner than I thought.

"Really," Elena started, trying her best to sound convincing, "I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life." _True, but no one would blame you if you were._

After an exhale, Bonnie's face turns into the definition of perseverance. "I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over, and you are going to be beyond happy." As the smiles worked there way on their faces, I couldn't stop the sad one that tilted on my lips as I looked at the crow on the Laurel Ave. sign.

_Bonnie has no idea how wrong she is._

_———_

As Bonnie and I load our things in our lockers (thank god we were only three apart this year), I see Matt looking at Elena with a kicked puppy face. I feel for the dude, but he had to move on. Especially with who was at school today.

"He hates me," she sighs out.

"That's not hate, that's 'you dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but I'm secretly listening to Air Supply's greatest hits," Bons quips.

"I concur," I say as I pull out my history book, sliding it into my book bag while hurling my duffle in it's old place, "He just misses you, dude. And, he probably thinks he did something wrong."

Elena turns toward me to respond, but is cut off as my favorite blonde hurricane makes her way to us.

"Alessia!!" She calls in a happy tone and I find myself tackled in a tight hug.

I hadn't seen Caroline in three weeks because of a kendo tournament and her planning the festival with the rest of the student council.

I squeeze her back just as tight as I mimic her name, _"Caroline!!"_

We have an adorable little hug wobble session before she suddenly realizes who else is here and turns to my least favorite doppelgänger.

"Elena. Oh my god," she wraps the brunette in a comforting embrace as she asks in her hair, "How are you?"

The uncomfortable look on Elena's face starts to piss me off as she looks at Care like she's a nuisance for caring.

Caroline releases her before continuing excitedly, "Oh, its so good to see you," she turns to Bonnie who is smiling a lot more genuinely at the blonde than she had in my memory.

Since me and Caroline were so close, it gave Bonnie the chance to be much closer with the sweethearts blonde as well.

"How is she? Is she good?"

"Caroline, I'm right here. And I'm fine. Thank you," Elena firmly greets.

"Really?" Caroline asks softly, and I can see how much she doesn't believe Elena either.

"Yes. Much better."

"Oh, you poor thing," Elena finds herself in Caroline's arms once more and I start to glare at Elena's attempts to bat her off like a fly.

"Okay, Caroline," she says in a strained voice, and I see even Bonnie looking a little miffed at her rude behavior to someone who's just trying to be nice. Said someone links her arm through mine before turning back to my sister and the doppelgänger.

"I'm gonna borrow Aless for a sec, see you guys later?"

Oh, this woman's happy energy is a blessing and I feel my irritation being soothed.

But, I still might cast a spell and have Elena's phone alarm go off in class. No one messes with my bestie.

Caroline promptly takes me away from the source of my annoyance and walks us over to the front office.

"Sorry, girl. I just needed a battle buddy for when I ask Ms. Watkins to move me to first period History with you guys. There's _no _way I'm teacher-aiding for the freshman's health class!" I inwardly shiver remembering just how _gross _that class had been, I don't blame her, and I tell her as much.

"By the way, Care, gotta say I love what you've done with your hair today. Looks way better than flat hair."

Caroline stifles a laugh at my jab at Elena before playfully swatting me on the shoulder, making me giggle. "What! You know she was being a bitch back there, after all, you're the queen of subtle digs."

Caroline rolls her cornflower blue eyes before tucking a blonde strand behind her ear as we wait in line to talk to the surly secretary, "She's going through a rough time, I can cut her some slack."

Suddenly, her eyes blink owlishly at something behind me before she blushes bright red, and I feel a chill run up my spine.

Unwillingly, I slowly turn around at who I _know _Care is gawking at, and I'm met with the most gorgeous forest green eyes I've ever seen. They're so deep, I think for a second I met get sucked in.

_Stefan__ Salvatore._

His eyes seem locked on mine, and they slightly widen as if there was something he saw in them, and I have to blink myself out of the odd trance I felt myself fall in.

"_Next,"_ I hear Ms. Watkins call, and I turn to see Caroline reluctantly turning her attention to the woman.

I hear him clear his throat behind me— and honestly, I don't wanna turn back around.

I understand Elena _so _much better now.

I'd be torn if I had to look at anyone else while dating this Adonis.

My head reluctantly turns back and I see his green eyes sparkling in what I think is amusement if the slight grin is any indicator.

But, there's something else there— something deeper in his eyes that I just can't read.

"Sorry to bother you, you just seem familiar."

Oh my god, his voice is like _butter_. Oh, no. This is no good at all. I gotta stay far, _far_ away from this vamp.

———

**_A/n: Hey! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, stay tuned for more! And if you liked my story, feel free to look at my other ongoing story, The Other Petrova._**

**_———_**


	2. Two

**_A/n: Hey! Saw in the comments a question on if I'm adding scenes, and the answer is yes! _**

**_There will be additions now that I can take all of the constructive criticism you've all given me and can make this book as great as humanly possible for me. But, they won't really star until chapter 5_****_. _**

**_Thanks for all of the re-favorites and re-follows, I know that I ask a lot from y'all, and I want you to know that I appreciate it, so I'll be editing as I go, but the chapters should still be out relatively quickly, at least all 33 in the next week or so._**

**_———_**

**Orphic: **_def. _mysterious and entrancing; beyond ordinary understanding  


———

**Chapter 2: Well, I Dunno What the Hell I'm Doing.**

———

_I need to get the hell away from this brooding pretty boy. _

"Sorry, dude, I don't think we've met," I reply quickly before turning back to Caroline, who now has a signed class-swap sheet in her pretty hands. "Let's bounce, Care Bear."

My blonde bestie looks at me like I'm _nuts_ before turning her attention back to Stefan, looking awful flushed and apologetic.

"I'm sorry about her, I'm Caroline," she starts with a flirty smile, and Stefan smiles back politely, "Aless is usually a lot more friendly, must be first day nerves."

I glare at her meaningfully, trying to get her to see that I don't wanna be around this guy, but she brushes me off with a matching look. Stefan chuckles before glancing back at me.

"It's fine, after all she doesn't know me that well, yet."

_And I wish I didn't have to. _

_"Next,_" Ms. Watson temperamentally hints, and I quickly link arms with Caroline, starting to drag her out of the front office.

If there is an escape route being offered, I would be an idiot not to take advantage of it.

Although, I might be a complete dumbass considering how _cute _I thought he was. The broody, no-responsibility-taking, whiny vampire in my memories was hot, but it's _way _different seeing it for reals. So, I promptly dragged Caroline our with a polite wave to the amused Stefan on our way out.

I only make it about halfway down the hallway before she snatches her arm from my grip.

"Uh, what do you think you're _doing_, Alessia? He was _super_ cute and you dragged me away before we even got around to really talking!" A pout works it's way on her face as blonde brows furrow at me in annoyance.

I try to disarm the bomb I've inadvertently set up for myself.

"Oh, come on, girl. You know that boy looked like a total fuddy dud."

Cornflower blur eyes look at me like I should be hospitalized, "What the _hell_ is a 'fuddy dud'?!"

_This is not going as well as I thought it would._

I roll my eyes before replying, "He looks like he's as bland as white bread is what I mean. Total fun sponge, so I decided to bail. Also, I get weird vibes from him."

"Oh, you mean the _totally hot _vibes? Cuz that's what I was picking up!" She whisper yells at me emphatically, before realizing that we are in the middle of the hall and promptly yanking me to the side before continuing, "Plus, he hasn't seen Elena yet, so I've gotta strike while the iron's hot."

I put a hand on her shoulder, making her pay attention to me.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, Care— any guy worth your time won't give Elena the time of day. She's lucky that it's in fashion rto be boring."

Caroline can't stop the giggle that forces its way up her throat before she grabs my hand, "Come on, we're gonna be late to see that jerk, Mr. Tanner."

She drags me down the next few hallways before turning into my least favorite teacher's classroom. Her quiet gasp reminds me that Stefan is also here, an actual student in our class, attractively popping a squat on one of the desks.

_Goddammit. _

_———_

_Jesus Christ, just fuck already! _I think to myself as I watch Salvatore and Gilbert trade lovelorn glances like they've been together for eternity.

I understood why Stefan was acting all Romeo, but his Juliet had just met him today, and it's super weird how much tension they're generating when she doesn't know the guy.

Doppelgänger's are so freaking weird.

Caroline is fuming on my right, and on the other side, Bonnie is very entertained by the chemistry in front of us. I watch her shoot a text to the now-coy Elena about the heated stare down the vampire is throwing her way.

_Let me die. _

_———_

Me and Bonnie quickly went home after scheduling a hangout with Elena and Caroline later at the Grill.

I quickly jumped into my workout clothes and went out to the backyard.

I absolutely adore being in our backyard.

It not only did it have many herbs and vegetables growing within its fenced walls— it also housed my very own rose garden and apple tree.

So much magic had been used and connected to back here during my training with Grams that the soil became a florist's wet dream. This was also one of the best places to be a Bennett witch. The flowers opened up in their welcome, the dew on the grass lightly swayed towards me, and the vines along our fence writhed along the painted wood.

_This_ connection is what kept me centered.

There were many times where I felt like I was losing my mind trying to figure out exactly how to get out of this with me, Bonnie, and Caroline still breathing. Anyone else I could spare would be a cherry on top, but I desperately needed to feel understood and like I wasn't alone.

Nature is perpetual and everywhere, it never leaves me alone, and it's always there with open arms. I once again feel blessed that I can harness magic without much help from my ancestors. In my book, those dead bitches were vindictive and judgmental, as if they had a right to govern the living just because we shared blood.

_I think not. _

_If there's one thing I won't stand for, it's some know-it-all, weak-ass corpse telling me what to do with my magic._

With that thought in mind, I begin my stretches. I found that yoga is the easiest way to limber up when preparing to do strenuous activity, specifically because I need to do some vampire-oriented combat training before I make my move tonight. I'd already dug up our great, great, great etc.'s grimoire over the summer, now I just had to strike up a deal with the devil.

But, I decided to wait until after he fucks with Vicki a bit.

Don't want her to die, necessarily, but she did call me a 'dirty slut' last year when me and Tyler were seeing if we could be more than friends, not to mention she's being totally rude to Jeremy. Karma's a bitch and so am I.

———

"'Sup, Matt. Tyler," I say as I stride up to their shared table.

I already had the pleasure of witnessing Ty and Vicki's weird flirting in front of Matt, and honestly, I wanted to gag. I didn't have feelings for the werewolf anymore, but it definitely was still a bit of a cringe subject.

"I'm gonna guess you finally found out about Vicki?" I ask, seeing Matt's irritated face.

Tyler goes fuschia and Matt blinks at me, slightly surprised that I knew.

"And you didn't wanna say anything?" Matt asks without any real bite to it, and I can't help but shrug.

"It was pretty obvious, dude. She got super jealous over that thing between us last year. Not to mention, I've seen them make out, like, four times at school today."

Matt rolls his baby blue eyes as he focuses his glare back on Tyler. I can tell he's not too miffed though, since he isn't leaving to go walk somewhere else. Matt was such a sweetheart that he hated his friends seeing him upset with them. He didn't want to make them feel bad, so he'd just leave if he got too worked up.

_Good for him, way to support his sister's decisions. _

_Elena could probably learn something from him. _

Then, I started thinking about how anyone could actually break up with the football star. He was handsome, sweet, kind, and extremely compassionate. If he had a little bit more _vavavoom, _I'd say he reminded me a lot of Caroline, anotherperson who _somehow_ was single.

Not saying I'd date him though.

I had decided quite a long time ago that I wouldn't date _non-_supernatural boys or girls. Way too fragile, and I don't have time to constantly protect someone who can't really protect themselves.

Tyler's dark eyes finally look up at me, nervously, like he thinks I'm gonna blow up on him.

I sling an arm across his broad, muscular shoulders and give him a comforting squeeze, "Chill, Ty. You're still good in my books as long as you aren't a douche to her."

He looks like that's not what he wants to hear, but quickly brushes it off and wraps his arm around my waist, giving me a squeeze back before we both release each other.

He turns back to me with a soft look on his handsome face, "Don't worry, I've been doing those breathing things you told me about. They've helped a lot."

Good _lord_, I had been more than nervous that Tyler was gonna be the same dickhead from my memories.

Like, he was definitely still a dick, but not an 'I force myself on girls' kinda dick.

Or, at least, I _really _hoped so.

That was the energy I was gonna put out into the universe, anyway.

I see Caroline and Bonnie walk into the main area of the Grill, with Care Bear already having a drink in her hand, and I gave a quick wave to the boys before flouncing over to my favorite girls in the world. I wrap my arm around Bons' shoulders as I walk with both of them, catching the info spill Caroline is dumping.

"His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with his uncle up at the old Salvatore boardinghouse. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue."

I arch a brow, already knowing just _how good_ she was at getting info from the other timeline, but it was nonetheless very impressive to witness.

"Damn, chica, got his blood type yet?" I ask jokingly and Bonnie's shoulders shake in her giggles.

"It's in the works!" The sunny Caroline replies brightly.

"You got all of that in one day?" Bonnie questions, clearly surprised at how good her information network is.

Caroline brushes the compliment off with a shrug of her shoulders, "Oh, _please._ I got all that between third and fourth period. We're planning a June wedding."

_Ha! They did. But, we're not doing that again. I refuse to leave Caroline a grieving widow._

And with that, our social butterfly flutters off to grace the presence of someone else across the room.

Bonnie arches a fine brow at me, clearly wondering if I understood the enigma that was a prominent feature in my life. I shrug my shoulders in response.

Trying to figure out the whirlwind that was Caroline Forbes was like asking why flowers bloom.

Sure, it could be done, but it was way more fun to just witness it.

"Hey, where's your broody bestie? I thought we agreed 6:00?" I ask nonchalantly, just to keep the conversation going.

"Aw, cut her some slack, Lessy. We're lucky she's even out of bed."

"True. It was just a question," I say with a nonchalant wave.

I didn't mean anything by it anyway.

We grab a table before ordering a couple drinks with the fake I.D.s we got last year.

Swiftly, our group's blond football star slides into one of the chairs across from us, blue eyes focused— not unlike Care's when she wanted to know something.

"How's Elena doing?"

The question immediately makes my eyes roll before I cradle my face in my hands, bored with the subject already before it's begun.

Bonnie is the true heroine and answers like a champ.

"Her mom and dad died, how do you think?" _Major points for the subtle snark, Bons. _"She's putting on a good face, but it's only been four months."

"Has she said anything about me?" His baby blues look nearly desperate as he asks, and I have to knock lightly on the table just to stop myself from rolling my eyes again.

"Oh, no. _So _not getting in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her."

_Tell him, Bons! _

He suddenly turns his questioning gaze to me and I immediately give him a dismissive wave.

"_Oh_ no, you don't," Stopping him before he can say another word, I quickly add, "You're _well_ aware that me and Elena ain't close, I have no idea where her head is at."

He nods, shaking his head at how stupid the insinuation was, before turning back to my lovely sister.

The waiter brings our Long Island iced teas and I swirl the alcoholic beverage with my straw as Matt continues, "I feel weird calling her, she broke up with me."

"Give it more time, Matt," Bonnie suggests compassionately, having no idea how bad that advice is just as the Grill door opens to reveal Elena followed closely by the talk of the town, Stefan Salvatore.

My face immediately stretches into a 'yikes' as the energy at the table gets _very awkward,_ very quickly.

I spot Caroline's disheartened glance as she notices the two walk in together as well.

_Oof. _

"More time, huh?" Matt asks sarcastically, giving the table his saddest puppy dog look before getting up and walking over to the pair to introduce himself.

Me and Bonnie share the same look then— _yikes._

Caroline quickly plops her adorable butt down in the chair from god-knows-where, well aware that Elena and Stefan are very likely to come sit with us since we invited the doppelgänger out in the first place.

Her hunch proves very effective as the future lovers quickly hop over. I wave a quick 'hi' to them both as I feel my phone buzz.

A quick glance down shows it's from Grams.

—

**_FROM_:** Grams

_**MSG:** _BE CAREFUL, THE CARDS ARE FOREBODING

—

I send a quick 'we're ok' text back before shaking my head.

_I'm very well aware, Grams, I've felt this foreboding for the last sixteen years. _

I turn my attention back to the table, resting my head in my hands as I wait for Caroline's interrogation to take wing.

"So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" She starts.

"Mhm, and moved while I was still young," His attention turns to me for a second, and I couldn't stop my eyes from meeting his.

He was still giving me that look as if he was trying to understand _everything_ about me from a glance, and I quickly looked away before my cheeks could heat up.

_What? The man is pretty, sue me!_

Bonnie decides to hop aboard the question train next, "Parents?"

She immediately regrets asking when he responds.

"My parents passed away," he says softly, and god, his voice is _sad. _Elena starts looking at him like the fact they both have lost their _parents _was a romantic thing.

_Ew. _

"I'm sorry," she said softly, hopefully in a empathetic tone and not a weird lovey-dovey tone, "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to," he replies evasively, but unfortunately for him, _I'm _here this time, "I live with my uncle."

"So, you have some siblings you don't talk to?" I ask quickly before someone else jumps in.

His brow furrows as he turns back to me, as if he had expected me to gloss over it like the rest of them had.

_Nah, I don't work like that. _

Elena also seems surprised I caught that loophole in his words, unlike Caroline and Bonnie. They had both been around me long enough to know that I always could find hidden meanings in what people said.

And thank _god,_ because I'd need that skill when I eventually dealt with the Originals— specifically, Elijah.

"Yeah, actually," Stefan says, suddenly very focused on me and making my tummy do adolescent somersaults, "An older brother, but we aren't on the best of terms."

I nod in acquiescence, praying that it removes his attention back to Elena. It doesn't. At least not until Caroline breaks the tension by continuing her crusade.

"So, Stefan," She starts with a flirty smile on her pretty face, "If you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

_She's a genius._

Bonnie helps the poor girl out by adding, "It's a back-to-school thing at the Falls."

Stefan turns his 'romance novel' stare back on the charmed Elena before asking, "Are you going?" _Very smooth._

Bonnie, being the sweetheart she is, is eager to help out the boy if it's gonna make Elena happier. "Of course she is!" She says with a bright smile that could light up a dark room. A cocky smirk works it's way up Elena's face as she glances at Caroline's forlorn expression. _Bitch. _

Suddenly, the baby Salvatore turns back to me, "And you?"

_What the hell? _

I shrug yet again, and I feel like it's been my response to the entire evening.

"Wherever my sister and the blonde go, I follow."

The soft smile that works onto his face makes my heart flutter, before my inner-bitch slaps me out of it.

And with that becomes a not-so-great realization about Mystic Falls' situation.

_I have no idea what I'm doing. _

———


	3. Three

**_A/n: Turns out, the links do work, but it still takes forever for the damn chapter to load. But! We will continue lol_**

**_And for the person who asked, all 32 chapters plus a new one within a week. Lucky for y'all, I got strep throat, so I have nothing but time to update everything!_**

**_———_**

**Nefelibata: **_def. _One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination; an unconventional person

———

**Chapter 3: Okay, Let's Talk About Crushes.**

———

As I sat up in bed at hearing my alarm clock, I couldn't help but sigh at my own stupidity.

_Okay, so I chickened out last night since I got too tipsy— but after the bonfire, I'll be on those Salvatores like white on rice. _

I also couldn't help but doubt myself a bit at this act of rebellion.

I might have had the brain function of someone beyond their years, but my pubescent hormones _definitely _made me a liability. My brain still acted like a teenager's, so I couldn't help but think that maybe I was just as inept as the rest of my teenage group of supernatural superstars. Maybe I should get extra help. But, the only person I genuinely trust to help me is my sister...

Bonnie would be strong enough to help me if I helped bring her to her potential, and even now, it'd be nice to have her when I needed help with the tomb.

I would say I could use my Grams, but I knew I had to face facts; Grams was _way_ too fucking old to be dealing with this high level of magic.

It'd be all around better to leave it to me and Bonnie as ascending Bennett witches.

Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't the first time I've knocked this idea around.

I trust Bonnie with my life and I know if I helped teach her, or even taught her myself, she'd be a quick learner.

However, my biggest fear was her using those abilities to effectively kill herself instead of asking me for help— so, I generally stopped my thought process right there. But, now that I thought about it, there was a pretty simple way to ensure she wouldn't commit to martyrdom.

_I could just bind our lives together. _

If one goes, we'd both go.

No people abusing our powers further, no doppelgänger using her grief against my Bons, we'd try our best to stay alive for the other.

Not to mention, I knew for a _fact _that Bonnie would save me before she saved Elena in any situation, any day. So maybe, it was time to let the secret loose?

I didn't owe Grams any favors, and Bonnie would be discovering her powers and having a subsequent panic attack over them after, so why _not_ just rip off the band aid and just tell Grams I saw a vision depicting the future of Mystic Falls after?

_Now, that's a **great **idea._

Besides, it'd be extremely hypocritical of me to say I'm protecting Bons by not telling her what's going on when I judge Elena for the same thing.

_Well, that settles that, _I think to myself as I hop out of bed in just my sports bra and shorts, and proceed to make my way to Bonnie's room.

As I look at her lavender walls and family photos, I almost wish we were normal.

Almost.

A quick hop on top of the lump in between Bon's sheets and she immediately groans before sitting up in bed. I'm hugged around her waist as I look up at my sleepy sister, her dark brown hair strung out in all areas and with fresh blanket imprints on her pretty face.

"What the _hell, _Alessia?!" She whisper yells as she rubs her eyes before setting one of her hands on my fluffy blonde head.

I snuggle into her stomach before I look up at her remorsefully.

"Bon-Bon, I gotta tell you something, and I think you might be _really_ mad at me when I tell you."

Her green eyes sharpen with awareness before she looks at me with a quirk of her brow, "Well, I could never hate you, Lessy, but, the longest I'll be mad is probably a couple hours. I can't stay mad at you long anyways. So, what's up?"

My caramel eyes start to water at her sweet words and I squeeze her tighter. "Chica, I'm gonna show you something, so you believe me before I explain further."

My sister acknowledges my serious tone with a nod before moving her hand from my head so I can sit up.

I sit across from her on the plush queen size bed, and take a deep inhale before saying, "You know how Grams has been talking about that witchy psychic stuff lately?"

She nods, and I take that as my cue to continue, "Well, she talked to me about it a long while ago, and made me promise not to tell you."

I reveal a handful of my pillow feathers clutched in my hand and she blinks her olive green eyes at me, clearly confused.

"Are you hungover, Lessy? Maybe I should get you some water."

Bonnie starts to stand up, but I grab her small wrist and yank her back to her seated position.

"Bonnie, please, just _listen_. I'm not hungover, and I'm not joking, just... _look._"

My witchy sister looks at me _hard, _trying to discern whether I'm joking or not, but all she gets is my unflinching gaze.

"Okay, fine, show me."

I place my other hand on top of the one holding the light, downy feathers, and slowly lift it, channeling a small amount of my magic to pull on the feathers, causing them to swirl in the air around us. Bonnie is completely mystified, and starts waving her hands above and below the feathers as they spin.

"What the _hell is going on?_" She asks in a slightly panicked voice, and my hand quickly finds hers to soothe her nerves as the feathers continue to float.

"Grams made me swear not to tell you, believe me I did want to, but Mystic Falls is about to be in serious trouble, and you're the only one I can genuinely trust to help me, Bons. And if you don't want to help me, it's still important that you know this for your safety."

Bonnie's eyes are frantic, olive eyes darting from the floor, to the door, to the feathers, and back to me. Her smaller hand squeezes mine, her way of telling me to keep talking even though she's speechless.

"We are _very, very _special, Bonnie. Me and you, we come from a long line of powerful witches, spanning back over a thousand years. I'm telling you this because we are not the only supernatural entities in this town, and we aren't going to be one of the few for long. You've been feeling it right? Ever since yesterday morning, there's been a heavy, foreboding weight on your chest?"

My sister looks like she wants to deny it for a moment, but nods her head slowly. We've always been very open with each other outside of this instance, and it's reassuring to know she trusts me even after finding out about the secret.

"That's because there are very dangerous people in town right now, and your magic is starting to awaken. That's why Grams has started bringing it up lately, and why you've been feeling so weird this year," I finish, unsure of how she is going to react.

The brunette shakes in disbelief as she runs her hands through her hair in an effort to calm herself. I wait quietly for a few moments as Bonnie collects herself, finally turning to me with an air of determination and focus.

"You're definitely not off the hook for not telling me sooner, Lessy. However— despite all odds— I actually _believe_ you."

I let out a sigh of relief at how _great_ she's taking this, and I can't stop the smile that works it's way up my face at having my sister with me on this. I should've done this _way _sooner! My excitement must've been shining through because Bonnie held up her hand as if telling me to hold my horses.

"But, before we get all hocus pocus, you _really _need to fill me in on what's going on in Mystic Falls."

_Well, this is gonna take all morning._

_———_

It did take all morning.

Bonnie took it much better than I thought— mostly since I came to her and told her the truth.

However, her animosity towards Grams grew exponentially the more she thought about it.

Oddly enough, having me here definitely changed the relationship between the elder and the youngest Bennett.

She now had a very strong relationship with me, instead. Because of that— and how we were raised— she grew to see Grams as an alcoholic who refused to take responsibility for her grandkids, just like our parents.

Her drinking, her lack of honesty, and more importantly Grams making me hide something from her, all built up to a simmering anger that had developed over the years— and it was _definitely_ leading to a confrontation.

But, she and I mutually agreed not to tell Grams that Bonnie officially knew about the supernatural status of Mystic Falls and our family line.

I would start teaching her the lighter spells, stuff that I knew wouldn't overwhelm her body so soon after the awakening of her magic, but would also protect her.

Also, considering I hadn't talked to the big bad Salvatore to negotiate retrieving our great, great etc.'s talisman, she would need all the protection she could get.

"Ms. Bennett?"

_Oh, shit._

I snap my attention back to the present and realize that the whole class is looking at me. I'm pretty sure I had a nightmare about this particular situation a couple years ago. _Maybe I **am** a psychic. _Mr. Tanner looks anything but amused and I quirk an eyebrow at the prick. "Lovely to see that you haven't changed at all, Alessia. Your ability to completely ignore pertinent information to your grade is astounding."

_Not as astounding as that giant stick up your ass._

"Thanks, Mr. Tanner, my talent generally depends on the teacher."

He glares at me for like 5 seconds before turning his attention onto my nearest and dearest sister, "How about you, littler Miss Bennett?"

She wasn't paying much attention either, but she had way more of an excuse than I did. "Um... A lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

I hear Matt and Caroline stifle their laughs and I send a playful glare at both of them. "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett," Mr. Tanner says snidely, and I'm vaguely reminded of Professor Snape. Except this time I'll be glad when he dies. I said what I said.

Mr. Tanner turns and locks his steely gaze on Matt, and I think this is like watching a massacre, which is funny because I'm 82% sure that's what he's asking about. "Mr. Donovan," he starts, "Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your imbedded jock stereotype?" _Prick. _

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it," he responds very coolly, a slow smile creeping up on his handsome dimples. The class is all chuckles and giggles now, but I'm wondering why there wasn't laughter for _my _cheeky comeback. _It must be Matt's mystical jock powers. _Mr. Tanner mockingly hums before turning to our lady of the hour: Elena Gilbert.

"Elena?"

Her pretty brown head pops up in alarm, and I plant my head in my hands. It's super amusing that literally no one was paying _any _attention.

"Surely, you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significant historical events?"

He acts like any of us actually _care _about what's happened in this little backwater town. Supernaturally speaking, it's history was riveting, but the fact that the normal class has a section on three years of _really _good harvest for apples speaks to how absolutely boring this town is if you're not spooky.

"I'm sorry," she says with a slight shake of her head, nervously twirling her pencil, "I-I don't know."

He levies a heavy glare onto her tiny form, and I remembered just how much of a _dick _he was about to be to her.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break."

The class is dead silent at just how _awful _what he just said was.

Now, you will not catch me trying to save the doppelgänger on a regular basis— and even though I knew Stefan was about to crack at him— no one ever actually called the shitty teacher out on what he said. In my memories, anyway.

"Mr. Tanner," I start off with a fake smile, "I have a question."

He poises to brush me off, but I continue anyway.

"Was it your mother or your ex-wife who made you such an absolute _dick?_ None of us got the question right. Maybe you should owe our ignorance to the fact that you're a shit teacher."

Mr. Tanner's seeing red. Elena's shocked that I said anything. Bonnie, Matt, and Caroline are looking at me like I'm nuts. And— of _course—_ I can feel Stefan's eyes burrowing into the side of my face.

"_OFFICE **NOW**, BENNETT!"_

I grab my things as gracefully as I can and with a smile head out the door.

I always have found it funny that teachers never verify whether you actually go to the office at this school.

I quickly turned the opposite direction for the front doors before sending a text to Grams.

—

From: Me

Msg: IN TROUBLE @ SCHOOL BUT HAD TO GET GRIMOIRE

—

_Yeah, that'll do it. _

Not _super _into lying to my grandma, but it provided a great opportunity to explain away how I'd gotten the grimoire in the first place. I _did _have to go do something witch-related anyway.

Also, I wouldn't really get in trouble at home.

Me and Bons were good kids growing up, so Grams never really got a good grasp on punishments. The most I'd probably get from this would be training my magic for an extra couple of hours, so it was well worth it.

Also, I kinda consider it to be my final goodbye to the awful douchebag.

May he rest in peace.

———

_This place is much creepier in person, _I thought to myself as I entered the clearing to the old witch house.

The sun was starting to set through the trees, and the overall vibe was ominous. I could definitely sense the old magic practically oozing from the place, but if nothing else, that made this place even creepier. I felt a sigh working it's way past my slightly chapped lips.

It'd been a hell of a hike up here since I left Bonnie the car, and I was gonna take a guess from the lack of a warm energy that the witches were _not_ very happy to see me.

_Oh well, don't care. _

I open the aged front door and am greeted with the smell of decay and mold. The main room is drenched in shadows, and I feel the temperature drop.

My 'someone's watching me' tingles travel down my spine, and I slowly turn around, completely unsurprised to see Emily Bennett looking up at me coldly.

_Huh, she's shorter than I thought. _

I give her a mocking smile before I pop a squat on the remains of a rocking chair.

"Hiya, Emily," I start out, looking at my nails in a bored manner, "I'd say 'great to see you', but I'm pretty sure that _you're _the reason for my not-so-warm welcome."

She steps towards me gracefully before finally replying, "I can't find much joy in my descendants when they're plotting to release the tomb vampires."

That causes me to furrow my brows before looking up at her.

"Hey, whoa there, I'm not trying to release _anyone. _My only goal is to get Damon Salvatore in and out of that cave so he can see that Kat isn't in there. The rest of the vamps are gonna burn."

_Unless I'm feeling lenient, then I'll help Anna get her mommy dearest out. _

Her dark gaze remains steely as she regards me, most likely trying to judge whether I'm lying or not. When they soften slightly, I know she knows I'm speaking the truth.

"Why must you align yourself with vampires, child?"

I can't stop the laugh that bubbles up my throat at that, tossing my loose blond curls back as I look back up at the specter.

"Coming from Katherine's _bestie?_ That's a little judgmental, don't you think?"

She looks momentarily surprised that I'm aware of that information, pausing before she glides over to the dilapidated windowsill, gently taking a seat and smoothing out her old dress.

After she's done fluffing her pilgrim clothes, Emily replies, "It's _because_ of her that I know what I speak of. Vampires are traitorous blasphemies against nature, and you intend to do business with one."

_Definitely not just one. _

_"_I'm doing this to protect my family. That's all you, or any of these other witches in here need to know."

She shakes her head with a rueful smile, and the old door at the entrance opens once again, "Be gone, child. You will not have our assistance if that's what you seek."

I chuckle as I dust my skirt off and proceed to walk out of this knockoff Haunted Mansion. I pause at the doorway, knowing Emily is still watching me.

Shooting her a small smile, I correct, "I didn't come for your help. I came to warn you and the rest of the dead squad that if you attempt to stop me, I will come back here, and I will _burn this place to the ground."_

And then I marched forward, following the smell of smoke and the flicker of light deep within the forest.

_Time to party._

_———_

By the time I get to the bonfire, it's in full swing.

I must've spent more time hiking than I thought I did, because it's dark, and a lot of people are already drinking.

_Gotta love safe underage drinking by a giant fire. _

I walk past one of the trees when I'm suddenly tackled by a blonde whirlwind.

"ALESSIA! You're okay!! You didn't answer your phone at all, you _bitch!"_

I laugh as I squeeze Caroline back, "Sorry, Care! My phone died while I was walking home and I totally spaced."

After a few more moments of scolding me, Bonnie appears at my side, along with Elena.

_Ugh, _I think as they both approach, knowing by the fiery look in her green eyes that Bonnie was gonna rip me a new one at some point. And judging by the confused look in Elena's, the doppelgänger clearly wanted answers as to why I valiantly defended her honor.

_Double ugh._

"Hey, Alessia, heard about what you did in history!" I hear as a strong arm is thrown across my shoulder.

_Tyler. _

And judging by his smell, I'd say he's more than just a little tipsy.

But, I'm thankful for any reason to vamoose out of this situation, so I smile brightly back at him. He smiles down at me briefly, eyes kind, before shaking his head at whatever thought he had.

"Tyler! Awesome to see ya! Let's go get me a drink!" I quickly suggest, desperately trying to avoid a public tongue-lashing from my little sister.

His dark gaze brightens at seeing my obvious cue to help me escape, and he scoops me up bridal style before he takes off towards the drink table and kegs.

I wave at a frustrated Bonnie and giggling Caroline as I'm sped away, laughing at Tyler's exuberance. I'm placed gently back on the ground, and my favorite guy friend quickly gets to making me a drink as I pat him on the back.

"My valiant knight in shining armor! Tyler, I owe you one."

He turns back to me with a warm smile and a completed drink concoction that's probably _way _too alcoholic for my own good. I'm a lot more thirsty than I thought I was after taking a few sips of the strong hodgepodge, so I grab a water as well.

After all, I'm going to need to be semi-sober later on.

"So, you gonna tell me what that Tanner thing was all about, or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?"

I laugh again and wrap my arm around his shoulder as we walk around the bustling party, "Long story short, didn't feel like being treated like a piece of shit for an hour and a half." I offer him my bottle of water, but right before he gets his mouth on it, I block it with my hand.

He quirks a dark brow at me and I put a hand on my hip while playfully glaring at him, "Waterfall it, dude. You've been making out with _Vicki Donovan_ the past few months."

Tyler's nearly black eyes roll right to the back of his head before he complies, downing half of my water down in a couple gulps before passing it back to me.

He grins at me wickedly before quipping, "Speaking of which, I might loop in for round two of that."

That was my cue to roll my eyes at the goof before I remember something. As he turns away, I grab his arm and he arches a dark brow at me in question.

"Make sure if she's down to do the dirty, you get her out of here, the forest is no place to bang a lady," I firmly say, giving him a no-nonsense look.

Ty looks at me like I've lost my mind, "Of course. I'm not _that _much of a douche. Also, I'm not really feeling going that far tonight. I just wanna get wasted with my friends and go home."

I nod with a warm smile before I reply, for safety, "Okay, let me know if you need a ride back?"

Ty salutes before turning off back towards the bonfire.

_I'm so proud of the character growth in that little shit. _

My bootie heel promptly turns in the dirt and I bump hard into someone's chest.

_Someone's **muscular **chest, **Jesus CH—**_

My thoughts immediately come to a halt as I see who's broad chest I've run into. Bright green eyes pierce mine, and I feel my breath hitch at just how _pretty _Stefan Salvatore looks in firelight. Like seriously, he looked like a god.

"Oh, hi Stefan," I say, quickly regaining my composure as he puts his empty hand in his pocket boyishly.

_**Cute. **_

_Shut up, hormones. _

"Hey, Alessia," he replies with a smile that would make me melt if I was weaker, but I was a strong woman so there was no way I had to fight smiling back. "Are you doing alright? Things got a little intense in Mr. Tanner's class."

I don't know when I started feeling comfortable enough to, but I shrug my shoulders at him, giving him a wry grin before taking a sip of my drink.

"Nah, I'm good. I'd be more concerned for Mr. Tanner's ego. Especially, since I never went to the office."

The vampire's pretty eyes widened hilariously as he coughed out his drink. I put my hands behind my back innocently as I wait for him to recover, a playful grin _strong _on my face.

_How does he look attractive when **LITERALLY** choking?! _

_God clearly has favorites. _

Stefan actually laughs as he finishes, wiping whatever beer he was drinking off his mouth, and I actually feel pretty proud that I got the ever-so-stoic Stefan to laugh.

At least, I _was— _until I saw a certain brunette glaring at me.

"Annndddd, that's my cue to bounce," I say with a point toward Elena, and Stefan furrows his brow in confusion before looking where I'm pointing at the previously-fuming Elena.

Stefan looks like he's about to say something as he focuses back on me, but I've already started dancing away, hearing "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne blaring out of the stereos.

"See ya around, Salvatore!" I call out before dancing through the crowd.

It's a good thing I didn't turn around either, I think seeing the spark that flashed in Stefan's eyes at that moment might've made my heart stop.

———

I saw Stefan and Elena later on walking on the bridge.

_Wow, they really made that gross, dilapidated, bridge with lights thrown on it look romantic._

Weird.

Suddenly, I see Tyler marching off angrily from the woods.

_Oh, no. I thought he SAID he wouldn't! _

I immediately dash over to him, nearly tripping in my high booties, and I realize I might not be 100% sober.

Besides the point.

I grab one of Tyler's large, angrily swinging hands and he turns so harshly that I'm scared he might do something stupid that'll make me retaliate. But, his dark eyes soften slightly and his sneer lessens as he looks at me. I squeeze his hand and guide him over to a corner of the woods to talk privately.

Tyler lets me, willingly, and I know something must be really bothering him to make my normally-hyped-jock-bestie follow me without question.

He leans against the tree across from me, and I take— as graceful as I can in a short skirt— a seat on the dirt. He promptly does the same, sitting with his feet crossed one over the other.

"What's going on, big guy? Was it Jeremy?" I ask after a moment of silence, watching his large shoulders heave from how angry Ty is.

His dark eyes flare at the mention of the younger Gilbert— but then, he takes a deep breath.

_So proud._

Releasing the large inhale, he finally replies, "Yeah. Vicki wanted to make out in the woods, but I told her I was hanging with Matt tonight. She started saying that I was ashamed of her and all this other bullshit, and then that fucking pill-pusher came and started acting all 'white knight'— accusing me of using her and shit. But, I told Vick from the get-go that I didn't want anything serious. Especially since back then I was still reeling from—," he cuts himself off.

Tyler's eyes widen at what he almost said before he glances around nervously, "Ya know, all the pressure from my dad."

_Poor guy._

"Don't you worry that handsome head of yours," I say with a soft smile, "Little Gil is just obsessed with Vicki is all. He's going through a lot, he probably sees her as the only thing that made him happy this summer."

I'm pleased to see that Tyler is paying careful attention to what I'm saying. Not retaliating or getting defensive, just listening.

I then tilt my blonde curls over to where Stefan and Elena are sitting and talking, "His sister is doing something similar with Adonis, over there. Neither of the Gilberts are really in the right headspace for relationships, because they're grieving. They don't want to grieve anymore, so they're looking for a lifeline— no matter _who _it is."

Tyler nods, his handsome face pensive and thoughtful, before he looks up at me with a question in his eyes, "And Vick? What do I do about her?"

"My recommendation?" I ask, and Ty nods, "Tell her the truth and _quit_ banging her. You aren't good to go on the relationship front; she isn't good to go on the friends-with-benefits front. It's just not gonna work because you don't both want the same thing."

Tyler accepts the hard pill to swallow, and then turns up to me with a slightly tired smile, "You're _way _too good at giving advice, Aless."

A quick shrug of my shoulders and a smirk is all I give back, as I see Elena take off after Jeremy into the woods.

_And that's my cue to move, but first. _

I dust myself off as I get up from the ground, before extending a hand to Tyler. He looks at my hand doubtfully but takes it, and stumbles when I yank him up with ease.

"Jesus, Bennett, you hitting the gym harder now or what?"

I laugh and shake my head, starting to walk over to the Salvatore who's about to get torn a new one by yours truly.

"You could say that!"

———

Stefan smiles when seeing me, and I use all my protective anger to stop myself from smiling back.

"You and I got issues, Salvatore."

He looks at me, clearly confused at what I mean, and my glare hardens, "It's fine to reject girls. But, if you _ever _talk to Caroline like she's some boy-crazy whore again— I will _eviscerate_ you and use your innards to decorate the town hall for the festival."

Forest green eyes widen in shock at the _intensity _of my threat, but I meant every single fucking _word. _

None of these pretty supernatural pieces of shit were gonna step on Caroline or Bonnie if I had anything to do about it. His eyes soften, and I see the sparkle of remorse in them as he looks at me.

I nearly soften, but I can't afford to be weak to every pretty boy I see here, there were a shit ton coming!

I promptly turn on my heel as I hear Jeremy scream from the woods.

I don't walk over. I know she's gonna live, and Vicki's definitely not in my list of Top Ten People I Like right now. Stefan's footsteps go quieter as he begins making his covert escape from the crime scene while Vicki's unconscious body is carried out of the woods.

Someone's eyes are on me, and I turn to see a shocked Bonnie— her hands trembling as she looks from Vicki back to me, and I can see it _click_ when she realizes _what_ did this. I purposefully glance over to Caroline and Tyler, telling Bonnie to take care of them both. Then, I turn off into the woods.

If I used that spell I read in Emily's grimoire, I'd be at the Salvatore boardinghouse in about fifteen minutes.

———

Now, I will be the first one to say, I _love _dramatic entrances.

I also like messing with people.

So imagine my excitement when I got to the boardinghouse and the brothers Salvatore shot out of the attic window like a rocket.

Like, seriously, _this was peak entrance material. _

So, I waited for a moment for Damon Salvatore to speak first as my eagerness starts to build. His back was to me as he leaned against a hedge, but I could tell he was just as much of a gorgeous specimen as Stefan.

With a bad boy edge, which is also very hot.

_It's gonna be **so** hard to focus when we talk business._

"I was impressed!" He compliments Stefan condescendingly, and I _knew _we were gonna get along fabulously, "I give it a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised."

Right as Stefan is about to speak, I walk out of the shadows, crossing my arms before saying, "Oh, cut him some _slack._ It was definitely a seven."

Two sets of bright eyes snapped to my form, one looking _extremely _worried, and the other being merely surprised. At least Damon was surprised for a second before he sped over to look closer at me.

_Whoa, _**pretty,**_** pretty **man. _

Bright blue piercing eyes framed by long dark lashes, strong jawline, playful mouth, dark black brows barely covered by his mop of shiny black hair— the man was a rom-com's wet dream. Same amount of sheer beauty as Stefan, just a different genre.

Like Stefan is a Renaissance painting while Damon is a sex god, Damon Salvatore _oozed _sex.

"Well, if it isn't the older Bennett? You're just as pretty as I remember."

_Huh?_

"Damon," Stefan said, his deep voice rough and pleading, "Leave her alone."

A dark eyebrow quirked as Damon acknowledged his brother's reaction. "I don't think I will, Steffy."

Then it was full-on vampire right up in my face.

However, I was more than prepared for Damon to react violently— taking the vervain soaked stake that I had hidden in my jacket and stabbing him in the stomach.

His eyes widen as I twist it, before launching him back harshly with my magic into the shed behind him.

Stefan is blinking in shock, and Damon is dusting himself off of broken shed pieces while trying to pull out the stake.

"Oh— come on, Damon— don't be like _that._ I already know about your deal with Emily," I say blandly, waiting for the information to really reach him.

Said elder Salvatore blinks owlishly for a second before he finally says 'fuck it' and yanks out the stake haphazardly anyway.

Stefan is looking like he saw the sky turn purple and rain raspberries.

I'm trying not to laugh.

"Alright. Now that _that's _out of the way, let's talk business like adults."

———

**_A/n: Hey, all! Thanks so much for the love your showing my little story, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoy reading your comments and seeing your favorites._**

**_———_**


	4. Four

**Sonder: **_def. _the realization that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as your own

———

**Chapter 4: I'm a Weak Woman.**

———

Okay, now both Salvatores are looking at me like I've lost my sanity.

Damon is blinking at me like incredulously— like he doesn't know whether or not to believe I'm_ real._

"Are you serious?" Damon asks, sneering at a piece of rubble on his nice shirt before brushing it off angrily. "No offense, _Witchy— _but, I'm pretty sure you have _nothing_ I'd want."

My brows furrowed.

_Did this bitch just call me ugly? _

Caramel eyes roll upwards as I do a big inhale to not get mad, pinching my nose.

"First off— _rude._ Secondly, I know exactly why both of you, Salvatores, are here. _Tweedle Dee,_" I say, pointing to Damon, "_You, _I can help quite a bit. As for _Tweedle Dum,_" I look pointedly at Stefan, "I don't like helping when it comes to Elena. So, not much I can do for ya there."

Green eyes become comically large as they lock on my form, barely comprehending _exactly _how much I know, and I hear Damon scoff, "Aren't you friends with her?"

Now _that _makes me finally crack up.

The hilarity of the situation plus just how _wrong the _elder Salvatore is, officially breaks my business face and I bend over cackling.

My stomach starts to hurt after a few moments, and I finally calm down, trying to wipe my eyes without messing up my eyeliner. Both are still very much confused, and it sends me into another fit of giggles as I bat my hand as if brushing away the thought.

"Oh, I don't give a shit about Katherine's double. Was I giving off that impression?"

Stefan has finally regained his composure and he tilts his head in an adorable manner, displaying just how confused he is by this entire situation. I don't blame him, it's a lot of reveals in the span of a few hours.

"_Wait_, you know about Katherine? You know what we are? How long have you known?"

The baby Salvatore's questions are so soft spoken, like he's trying to keep his cool and not panic. It makes me feel a bit bad for springing it up on him so suddenly, but I hold tight to the belief that the sooner this conversation was had, the better.

"Yes, I've known about everything, Stefan, I'm the latest and greatest Bennett witch. I knew when I first met you what you were, and I knew as soon as I heard about the wild animal attacks that your brother was in town. Speaking of which," I turn my attention back to Blue Eyes, "My great, great, blah-blah-blah sends her regards, Damon."

He blinks those pretty dark eyelashes before nodding in acceptance, starting to pace around the walk way. "Alright, what do you want?"

"Not much, but I'd rather discuss my plans with you separately. No offense, Stefan."

Damon's eyebrows raise in a flirtatious way and I roll my eyes, "Not like _that, _Salvatore. People that sleep with you end up in mortal peril."

_Ha ha, future jokes._

"Okay. Stefan, kick rocks. Me and Bennett got business to discuss," Damon says mockingly, crossing his muscular arms in his leather jacket, _hot _**_damn_. **

It's hard to be a professional under this level of duress.

Stefan's concerned eyes land on me, and I'm touched that the look he gave Elena constantly in my memories is being reflected to me. Very different when you're not looking at it through a window. He strides over to me with even steps, until he's directly in front of me and I have to focus _really hard_ to not stop breathing.

_He smells like peppermint and pine, oh boy._

_"_Alessia, _please _listen to me. You can't go with Damon alone, he's dangerous." His green eyes are piercing, causing a wave of chills to travel through me.

However, my inner feminist will not be denied.

I shake my head at Stefan, "I go as I please. Trust me, Stefan, I'll be fine."

He still looks beyond worried, maybe a little angry, and entirely focused on me.

_I'm starting to get why the girls all like you so much. _

The guy is very good at making you feel as if you're the only important thing in the world with just looking at you. I'm snapped out of my 'vampire hottie' trance by a sharp whistle from Damon.

"Get gone, Clark Kent. I won't ask again."

One look at Stefan and I can see how much he's holding back. But like literally, his eyes were doing that veiny thing that vampires do, and a low growl left his throat.

_Oooh my GOD, _**HOT. **

I try desperately to calm my suddenly racing heart, and Stefan looks at me, veins and all.

OH, _NO_.

I feel my cheeks heat up as he pins me down with his stare, before saying almost too calmly, "I'll be waiting inside. We've got a lot to talk about."

Then, he turns and walks back into the boardinghouse, grabbing a stunned on the way Zach and pulling him inside with him.

...

_Well, I'm in trouble._

Damon chuckles, "Well, that was fun. Now come on, Princess, we're going for a drive."

He pulls his keys out and starts walking down the driveway to his very nice blue car that I don't know the name of.

I cross my arms staying in the same spot, before calling out, "You want Stefan to follow us?"

"Nah, he'll still be able to hear the engine where we're going. If you screamed loud enough, he'd hear you, and promptly come running like the good little lap dog he is."

I shrug my shoulders at that and promptly jog over and gracefully slide into the passenger's seat when he speeds over and opens it.

"Thanks, _Jeeves,_" I thank, a quirk of my brow at the sudden politeness on my face.

A sardonic grin appears on his face as he closes the door, and soon we're off on the road. After a few minutes, he pulls off to the side of the empty road and turned up the radio a bit.

_Ew, the 70s._

"That should be far enough, with the radio at least. Alright, Glinda, what do you know? And while you're at it, what do you want from me?"

My eyes roll for what feels like the millionth time since I came over here, as I say, "My name's _Alessia. _Use some variation of that. Also, I know all about how you're trying to get Katherine out of the tomb."

Blue eyes turn to ice chips as I bring up his ex-boo, but I shrug away the imminent threat in his gaze.

"Chill, I'm here to _help_ you get her out. I don't have anything against her," I sigh.

A dark brow quirks on his handsome face as he grabs a blood bag from in his dashboard. And let me just say, that Damon in the moonlight was very much on par with Stefan by the firelight.

But, because I'm a powerful woman I didn't even notice.

He takes a sip from the convenient straw, before turning his attentive gaze back to me.

"Emily died because of her habit of sticking around bloodsuckers."

I laugh again, leaning back in the passengers seat before grabbing my cinnamon gum from my jacket pocket and offering him a piece. He shakes his pretty dark head and I shrug before popping a piece in mouth, and turning my attention back to the conversation.

"No. Emily died because she didn't _prepare_ for her habit of sticking around bloodsuckers. She always assumed Katherine had her back and they'd never get caught. Emily was a sweet girl who got emotionally attached to an unreliable person."

"Oh, and you wouldn't?"

"I keep my circle small for a reason, Damon. If I'm honest, that's part of the reason why I'm here. Basically, in exchange for my helping you get into the tomb, I want you to keep four people on your _'do not eat'_ list."

Damon, unsurprisingly, looks confused again before moving towards me suddenly.

I steady a glare at him, fully prepared to blast him out of the windshield if he takes one misstep— but, instead he reaches back into my jacket pocket and grabs the piece of gum I offered him earlier from the package.

_What an indecisive weirdo—__WAIT. _

_He's trying to intimidate me._

His eyes lock on me, and I feel like they're looking for some sort of a reaction— but Stefan had been all up in my face earlier and nearly gave me a heart attack, so I'd already prepared for Damon to test that boundary.

"And you aren't gonna try and stop me from eating other people?" He asks, sounding like he's mocking me, but, from his eyes I'm guessing it's just his disbelief.

I tuck an out of line curl behind my ear and turn back to facing the windshield while Damon keeps looking at me.

"Nah, it's a pointless conversation. If I was a vamp I'd probably use the 'eat, compel, let live' method, but there's no way I would be able to avoid killing my fair share of people. Eternity is a long time to have the same morals. It's fine to shuffle them every now and again."

Now, Damon is _really _looking at me like I'm an alien.

Or at least he does for a few seconds before he chuckles, "Holy shit, you are one _weird _little witch."

_Well, **that's **rude._

He rolls his eyes back as he finishes his bout of chuckles, smacking the steering wheel in amusement.

"Gee, you're gonna be fun to have around. What the hell— I'll accept your offer, Alessia. Now, who can't I have for lunch?"

I hold back a squeal of victory, turning to him again with a bright smile, "First one is Bonnie, obviously. She's my younger sister. Second, Caroline Forbes. She's the prettiest blonde in this town, can't miss her. Third, Tyler Lockwood. Football player, angry, handsome. And lastly, is my grandma— but, if you are faced with a decision where one of us three Bennetts have to die— she's good to go."

Bright blue eyes blink at me as if trying to examine me _closely, _and it almost makes my heart race, "Why the hag?"

Quirking my lips, I try to condense all of the reasons why I'd save Bons over Grams in a couple of sentences, "She's lived the longest out of us. Not to mention, there's a lot of supernatural activity in this town. I might _have _to pick which of my family lives or dies. It's important to have that pecking order ready to go in case of an emergency."

Pretty baby blues narrow on my form for a moment, clearly thinking and assessing the situation, before he nods and starts back up the car. Damon pulls the vehicle through a sharp u-turn— making my head hit the window hard, _by the way_— and he smirked over at me as I rubbed the sore spot.

"Fair enough, little Bennett. Now, let's take you back before Stefan gets his panties in a twist."

_Oh shit, I forgot about that. _

_———_

As me and Damon pull up into the driveway, I feel a sudden force yank me out of my seat, making me squeak.

The world is a blur of midnight blues and browns when I find myself in a very nice bedroom.

_Oh, I think I'm gonna throw up but what a pretty place to throw up in._

Like seriously, all the fancy duvets, curtains, the whole shebang. Shit, this isn't a bedroom, it's a whole _loft. _And so _many books. _As I turn around inspecting the room, there, leaning angrily over the corner fireplace with a glass of something strong, is Stefan Salvatore with his back to me.

What a pretty, _pretty _man.

Even angry, he looked like a sculpture come to life, and I had to force myself to focus when an angry exhale left his very distracting mouth.

_I need to get out of here before I risk it **all**. _

Suddenly, he turns around, glaring at me harsh enough that I feel like I actually did something wrong.

"Do you even _realize _how stupid that was, Alessia Bennett?"

_**Oof,** he pulled out the full name._

I scoff, "Whatever, Stefan. I don't need your permission to do anything, you barely even know me."

Like seriously, he's only known me for two days and he's scolding me like he's my absent father. This is the exact reversal of what Elena got in my memories. He was super sweet and gentlemanly there, they connected right off the bat and acted like lifelong lovers pretty quickly.

So, why the _hell _was he talking to me as if I was an infant?

His green eyes flare at the latest poke to his anger, them turning the brightest shade of green I've _ever _seen.

"You could've _died_, Alessia. What part of that aren't you getting? Damon has no qualms about hurting the people I'm around."

"I can clearly handle Damon, Stefan. Maybe _you_ should quit talking to me like I don't know what I'm doing. I'm _fully _aware of what you and Damon are capable of, I was well prepared for this." His green eyes keep looking at me dead on, but I see a faltering in them.

"And you _knew _I was fully ready for this," I guess, arching a brow at him when he stiffens in confirmation. "So, if _that_ isn't your problem, what's actually your issue? Because, if it's me doing 'secret' business with your brother— I'm not telling you anything. I don't care how pissy you get."

He shakes his head and I notice that it's not in its normally coiffed style. It looks like he ran his hands through it multiple times. Messy, shaggy, golden brown locks drape across his handsome face as his gaze becomes someone conflicted and slightly darker.

_It's becoming very difficult to focus when the tension in this room is so high. _

Stefan sets down his glass on the table before turning fully back to me. He stares me down _hard, _like he's trying to see if I'm scared of him.

I'm very much not scared of either him or his brother.

They're the main threats _right now— _but, in a matter of months— they're gonna be small fish in a big pond of hot mess.

I stare up at him just as hard, but then a yawn works it's way through my rib cage, and I realize just how _long _today has been. Stefan's eyes soften slightly at me and he grabs his jacket.

"I'll take you home, Alessia," he says, placing a hand on my lower back to guide me out of the room.

_What a sweetheart._

_But, if I could just record him saying my name that'd be **great. **_

His gaze is still hard as we walk downstairs. And I get a little peak at the rest of the boardinghouse.

_Very luxury masculine. _

I see Damon sitting on a leather couch in front of a massive fireplace and shoot him a wave. He winks back at me and tips his glass of alcohol to me, and I nearly choke on my spit.

_Gotta be more careful around these pretty people. Jesus Christ— __a **wink** almost gave me a heart attack. _

I walk out the front door that Stefan is holding open and wait for him to direct me to his vehicle. He doesn't. Instead, he gives me a very insincere smile, and slowly walks over to me.

"Uhh... Stefan? Where's your car keys?"

Said vegetarian vamp puts his hands in his jacket pocket and gives me a look that borders teasing and patronizing.

"Oh, don't worry. We won't need them."

My eyes widen when I realize what he means.

And I _do **worry.**_

"Wait, Stefan, _don't-_!" I'm suddenly picked up yet again and feel the sickening force of ten tilt-a-whirl rides against my stomach. It feels like eternity, but is probably only a couple seconds, when he finally stops and we're in an alleyway. I'm immediately tempted to put my still shaking head between my thighs to fight off the bout of nausea hitting me like a freight train.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Stefan leaning up against the alley wall beside me, a teasing smile on his face. I glare as hard as I can at him as I sit back up out of pride, and I see that the douche is trying his hardest not to laugh.

He lets out a couple of those weird 'cough' chuckle-things that don't sound like coughs, before finally shrugging his shoulders at me.

"What the _hell _was that for, Stefan?!" I whisper yell, trying not to gag. He looks down at me, straight faced, but I can see the glee in his eyes as he bends down to my level, his face inches from mine.

_OH __**SHIT-!**_

"Well, you're right. I can't control what dangerous, _stupid _things you do. but I will take _this,_" he waves his hand around the area before gesturing towards me still trying not to be sick, "as my '_You Worried Me_' toll. Every. Time_._"

I blink up at him, completely shocked at his teasing manner, before I start bursting with laughter.

I can't help it!

Who _knew _that the brooding, moody, serious, Stefan Salvatore could actually joke around?

This is a scientific discovery if I've everdiscovered one.

Stefan then covers his mouth— trying not to laugh with me at just how _hysterical _this evening has been— but, he eventually breaks, and I hear his loud beautiful laughter.

I don't think I ever saw him laugh _this _hard in my memories, and in a weird way it made me really happy that I could bring that out in him. Finally, our laughter dies down, and I once again acknowledge I'm in some random ass alley.

"Okay, Stefan, you had your fun! Now, where the hell are we?"

He smiles before extending an arm to the exit of the alley, "Right next to Mainline Coffee. I heard Bonnie while we were running to your house, but I figured you'd want to touch base with her since she seemed to want to talk to you at the bonfire."

_Well, shit. I forgot that I'm gonna get yelled at for a **third **time this evening._

I sigh loudly before pinching my nose and heading out the alley, but I stop before I pass Stefan.

I pat him on the shoulder comfortingly before parting with, "I'm sorry I made you worry. But, don't worry about me— I'll be _fine._ See ya probably tomorrow."

Then, I left with a quick turn to the left, before hearing Stefan call out, "The other way, Alessia."

I promptly blush hard and pivot, realizing I'd spaced out looking at the sidewalk and didn't look at _all _where I was going.

"I knew that!"

All I hear is a deep chuckle vanish into the air.

———

I seem to have come at the _best _time, because my blonde bestie was in dire need of a pep talk.

Bonnie looked exhausted, so when I poked her on the shoulder, her olive eyes lightened in relief but also flashed a bright, big 'HELP ME'.

I pop a squat in the seat next to Caroline and wrap my arms around her very drunk body. She looks up and gives me the brightest smile I've seen all day, cupping my cheeks.

"Oh, thank god you're here, Aless! I'm having a self confidence _crisis!"_

I smile warmly back at her, pulling one of her hands off my face and holding it gently, "Talk to me, Care. What's got you in the dumps?"

_I know full well what's got you in the dumps._

_"_Stefan Salvatore totally blew me off tonight," she says, cornflower eyes starting to water as her hand shakes in mine, "Why didn't he go for me? _You know?_ How come the guys I want, _never_ want me?"

My eyes snap to Bonnie, remembering she said something pretty cold before in my memories— but, she just says, "I'll get you a water, Lessy," and gets up to grab said water.

I look back to Caroline, who's looking more forlorn and depressed by the minute.

"I'm inappropriate, and _always _say the wrong thing. And, Elena always says the right thing. She doesn't even _try _and he just _picks _her. And she's _always _the one that _everyone _picks! For _everything_!"

_I swear to god, my heart's breaking right now. _

I can feel my eyes start to water at hearing just how _badly _she wants to be loved. It wasn't just the boys either. Her dad chose his new husband. Her mom perpetually chooses her job. And even in my memories, Bonnie chose Elena. She had to wait a _while_ for someone to finally be interested in her _for _her— and _he_ happened to be the Scooby Gang's enemy.

"And, I try _so **hard**,_" she says ardently, with more passion then I've seen from her in a while, "and I'm _never _the One."

She shakes her head, trying to pull her hand back, but I yank her into a hug as I sniffle.

"You listen to me, and you listen to me _good, _Caroline Forbes," I start, and she hugs me back, tightly, "Elena Gilbert is small potatoes. We're stuck in this podunk small town, where none of these boys have _any _decent taste. I mean look at you, me, and Bons. We're the hottest girls I know— and not _one_ of us has a significant other!"

I hear her watery chuckles and I know I'm winning her over as I rub my hand over her back comfortingly, "These boys are just a blip on the radar, chica. They want boring_. _Easy_. _Sweet_. Docile. _That's why they go like flies to Elena. Us? Well, we just require a higher caliber of a lover," I finish off, and Caroline pulls away from me with a teary smile.

"If I swung that way— I'd marry you, Aless."

"_Shit._ I'd marry me, too."

And as me and Caroline pull apart, I see the familiar head and shoulders of dark hair and leather walk out the door.

_Huh, wonder when he got here._

_———_

**_A/n: Hey! Thanks for all the love, guys. It's really a powerful motivator for churning out these chapters! And to the person who asked, Alessia will eventually be paired with someone, I'm just not really sure who. _**

**_———_**


	5. Five

_———_

**Ebullience: **_def. _The quality of being cheerful and full of energy

———

**Chapter 5: Nope, Leave Me Out Of It.**

———

Today was thankfully a very _easy _day to be Alessia Bennett.

Nothing too serious was gonna happen today— or, at least nothing requiring my interest or interference.

Vicki and Elena were going to be in the weird tug-of-war between the Salvatores; Caroline was gonna bounce back to her old springy self— _hopefully_, without a crush on the elder Salvatore, but if she liked him then I couldn't blame her; and Damon is gonna be keeping his dickishness away from my Chosen Four.

Really, things are looking _very _peaches and cream for me today— so, I guess I'll be testing out a couple spells and talking to Care about the latest routines for the cheer team.

Oh yeah, and there was that weird candle-thing tonight that I _still _don't really understand. So, guess I gotta go to that since Bonnie made it _abundantly _clear that I was going to be attached to her hip for any further interactions with the supernatural.

_Well, that was fair after all I put her through last night. _

Speaking of which— Grams didn't even mention me skipping out on the office. All she wanted to do was see and touch the _legendary _grimoire, so, I was completely off the hook.

Sitting up in my bed, I scratch the back of my pink satin bonnet tiredly before glancing at my closet.

_What to wear for a do-nothing day?_

I grab some work out leggings and a hoodie, along with my workout sneakers before hauling ass to the shower.

Thankfully, no time-crunching from Bonnie today, and I'm _really _starting to feel this morning. As the shower turns on, and I crank up the radio only to hear "Hey Ya!" on the first station, I _know _it.

_Today's gonna be awesome. _

_———_

I plant my cute little butt in my desk chair, cheerfully pulling out my history book for my _least _favorite class of the day.

Caroline is already next to me, and I see her furrow her brows in obvious confusion at my attitude, before turning and giving Bonnie a pointed look. Bonnie shrugs her shoulders, her not understanding my good mood either, since both of us didn't get much sleep last night.

The only thing that's not so great, is the song I have stuck in my head.

_Care-a-Lot, is a place we all can gooooo_

_Whenever we choose it _

_Care-a-Lot, is a feeling we all knoowww_

_We never do lose it_

I feel a harsh smack from Bonnie on my shoulder, and I look up to see the one and only Greek God, Stefan, looking down at me with a _very _amused face.

"Was that from _Care Bears?"_ He asks with a warm teasing smile.

My face immediately heats up by a hundred degrees as I realize I must've been _actually _humming the song at some point, but in my defense, it _was _a catchy song.

A soft laugh leaves me before I finally respond, "Wait! _You've_ seen that movie?"

He uses one of his large hands to comb back a few loose strands of hair from his forehead as his smile turns to a wry grin.

Then, he leans over my desk, glancing at the top of my head for a moment before gently reaching and grabbing a renegade leaf from the top of my high ponytail. Green eyes are open and soft towards me, and I know he's accepted my apology from yesterday.

"Well, it _is _a classic," he says before walking to his own desk, and I can't stop the small smile he works up on my face.

_What a **cool** dude._

And then, Elena comes in, and that weird tension that she and Stefan have going on ramps up to maximum awkward _quick_.

If I wasn't in such a good mood, I probably would gag at their lovelorn glances at each other as class starts.

It oddly enough reminds me of when I had a crush on Tyler in elementary school. She looks at him, he keeps looking, she looks away, he keeps looking. Like a game of eye tag where Stefan is always ready to tag her.

I chance a look at Caroline to see how she's doing, but she's not even looking at them, instead, actually paying attention to whatever the hell Tanner is talking about.

_I should probably do that sometime, _I think for a moment before shrugging the idea off. I'd pay attention after this douche canoe was dead and gone.

Besides, Alaric seemed like the cooler guy to listen to, anyway.

_And cuter. _

Hush, brain.

We can have crushes on a lot of these guys secretly, but we are _not _going the teacher/student route. Not to mention, the dude was very human, and that would _never _end well.

_Oh yeah, what's Mr. T talking about again?_

_"_Originally discovered nearly five centuries ago, it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years. Now, the comet will be its brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration."

_Oh! **That's **what the weird candle thing is for!_

Suddenly, Mr. Tanner's eyes get that shark-like glint that usually appears when he sees someone goofing off, and his beady eyes glare at the forever romantic, Stefan.

"Are we bothering you, Mr. Salvatore? Ms. Gilbert?"

I have to bite my cheek so I don't laugh at how mad the old coot looks when they obviously don't care about being called out.

_Weirdos._

_———_

I'm walking alone in the hallway, when I catch Bonnie and Caroline headed my way.

I quickly flutter over, wrapping an arm around my sister's shoulder, but they pay me no mind as they carry on their conversation as if I was there the whole time.

"Wait, I'm confused," Caroline says with a shake of her head, "Are you and Aless, _psychic_, or _clairvoyant?"_

My eyes widen like a deer in headlights and I nearly choke on my gum. "You told her already, Bonnie?!"

She gives me a coy look while she tucks a piece of her wavy brown hair behind her ear, "If you're allowed to have important supernatural talks without me, I'm allowed to do the same."

_Very petty, Bons— but, fair enough._

"Yeah, she cornered me in my car this morning and made _flower petals _float in my _lap. _After I had a good ten minute flip out, she explained everything. Which brings me to me being mad at you! How could you not tell _me_, your favorite person ever, that you were _magic?!_" Caroline whisper yells.

"I couldn't even tell Bons for the longest time! I just recently decided to break the rules since I could tell she was starting to feel some of the ju-ju," I reply back, my hands raising in mock surrender.

"Which brings me back to your question," Bonnie gracefully interjects, stopping me and Caroline's argument from snowballing. "Technically, we're witches— according to Lessy and Grams. Our ancestors were like, these mega-witches from Salem and everything."

I smile cockily, stuffing my hands in my hoodie pocket, "Damn straight, our line goes back over a _thousand _years. We're pretty much the blue bloods of the supernatural community."

Caroline stops in the middle of the hallway, looking like we slapped her. "Supernatural _community? _You mean it's not just you guys—!"

I promptly slapped my hand over her mouth that was increasing in volume.

_Let's hope Stefan is distracted by Doppelena. _

"Hush, Caroline!" Bonnie whisper yells urgently, before dragging both me and Caroline into the nearest girls' bathroom.

A few girls are lingering in here, I think one of them is named Dana and I also see that bitch, Tiki, from cheerleading, but that's besides the point. I strut in front of Care and Bons before loudly clapping my hands.

"Alright, ladies, time to evacuate this bathroom and go literally anywhere else!"

Tiki rolls her dark brown eyes at me before cocking her hip out, "And, why exactly should I listen to you, _Bennett?"_

I raise a brow at the obvious challenge.

'Girl World' is _very _much like in Mean Girls— and Tiki likes to test the hierarchy that me, Caroline, and Bonnie have established, _often._

I walk close to her, and whisper, "Well, you obviously don't have to. Just like I don't have to let it slip that you tried to make out with Daniel McCormick at the bonfire. I'm sure his girlfriend would _love_ that."

She gives me the stupidest stunned look, then quickly grabs her two other nobodies and exits the bathroom. Quiet Dana quickly grabs her stuff and I give her a small friendly wave as she walks out.

_Nice girl. Shame she dies._

Caroline let's out a low whistle before grinning at my 'mean girl' antics, "_Damn_, Aless. Good to see you're still worthy of being co-captain."

I check the stalls of the bathroom as I let out a laugh, "I didn't get here by being nice."

All empty.

Bonnie sighs, "God, I hate her. You'd think she'd quit acting like that after last year."

I shrug my shoulders.

_Some girls are permanently twats. _

But, back to business.

"Back on topic, ladies. We've only got another ten minutes before we gotta jet to last period. So, the answer to your question is 'yes, Caroline', there are a lot of different supernatural breeds out there," I quickly explain, wanting to get the conversation done and over with.

Bonnie sets her bag on one of the sinks, leaning against it before adding, "Vampires, werewolves, the _whole_ shebang."

Caroline's pretty face is a hilarious mask of shock and slight disbelief, before it relaxes into acceptance.

"I guess that makes sense, after all if there's an apple it would make sense that there's a whole tree with leaves, branches, and roots, too."

I blink a bit at just how _good _that analogy is, giving her a quiet round of applause that she responds back with a mock bow. Sometimes she's the smartest person I know, I swear. Bonnie smiles at her, probably super happy that Caroline is taking it so well.

_Me and her are **way** more alike than I thought. _

Not to say that me and Bonnie don't have our very obvious differences, we do.

I'm not very big on rules, she likes to follow them. I'm very much a spontaneous person, and I do things as I please, sometimes not thinking about the consequences. Bonnie is so kind and thoughtful, I don't think she's ever thought about what _she's _wanted in her entire life.

We balance each other out perfectly.

"Oh, yeah," I pause, realizing something, "Does this mean you're telling Elena about the 'witch' thing, too?"

_Please say 'no'. Please say 'no'._

I think she sees my prayer on my face, because she says, "Not yet. It can wait till this weekend."

Then I feel a buzz in my pocket, and see that it's a text from Bonnie, herself.

—

**From: **

Bons

**Msg: **IM GONNA TALK TO STEFAN FIRST. WANT 2 SEE IF HE IS A THREAT.

—

I nod in acquiescence when I see Caroline check her makeup in the mirror, the warning bell going off. We all look at each other, smiling, and I'm so glad that my main survival group is all on the same page.

_Well, almost the whole group. _

Meeting adjourned.

———

You know what the best public high school lunch is?

Easy: _Mozzarella Sticks._

Sometimes, they're the only thing carrying me through the school day— but, the problem is, you need to be in the front of the lunch line to get the hot, gooey, good-tasting ones.

Now, I already know what you're asking yourself.

_Alessia, how do you always get your favorite cheese-sticks, hot and heavenly, every time?_

I'll tell you how: I always go to the bathroom fifteen minutes before lunch starts on Cheesestick Day.

And that's exactly where I found myself at the moment— meandering through the hallway with the hall pass dangling limply in my wrist.

Blowing air out of my mouth in a dramatic huff, I enjoy the eerie silence of the school hallways. There was always something kinda other-worldly about an empty, silent school. My hand trails alongside the lockers as I continue to hum that infernal Care Bear song, thinking about everything that had happened so far, and everything that would come.

Specifically, that I could die in the middle of all this mess— and I had no idea what would happen after.

The way things were going, my death was very plausible. What would happen after? Would I just forget everything and restart this all again? Just how long had I been in this cycle?

I didn't know how I felt about that.

Everyone else would wind up either on the Other Side or finding peace— did that mean that I would never see my friends again once death had separated us?

I'm shaken out of my nihilistic downward spiral by a sudden appearance at my left, making me jump.

Seeing forest green eyes, I glare at the sneaky Stefan Salvatore for damn near giving me a heart attack. My hand harshly connects with his shoulder, and I can tell he's faking it when he rubs his shoulder and 'ow's.

"Oh— _shut up,_ you big faker," I call him out, a spike of 'I knew it!' flooding me when his faux-pout cracks into a derisive grin, "It's rude to sneak up on people, Salvatore."

Stefan's green eyes are bright as he jokingly puts his hands up in surrender walking alongside me— looking awfully cool in his stupid brown leather jacket as he smirks down at me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that the hallways were a daydreaming-zone— I'll be more careful next time not to interrupt you," he sarcastically apologizes, but jokes on him.

I learned how to deflect that years ago, via Bonnie tantrums.

"Good," I accept his fake apology sincerely, shaking my head in mock-shame at the surprisingly-immature vampire as he chuckles in disbelief, "Now, be gone. I was sinking into a depression before you came over, and I have a schedule to keep."

A thick brow arches on his stupid handsome face, and I feel my face warm slightly at how deeply he's looking at me— as if he's actually trying to make sure I don't wade in my depression pool.

"Oh, if that's the case— I think I'll stay," Stefan stubbornly replies, his smirk widening as my glare turns up in ferocity. "Wouldn't want to leave you in a less-than-happy state for your friends, now would we?"

I roll my eyes, knowing he's right, but not liking it since he's a stranger.

_"Fine,"_ I huff, "But, you'd better be funny before we get to the cafeteria. Otherwise, I'll never recover in time."

This makes the broody Salvatore's brow return to its furrowed-state, which makes me smile. I was demanding the impossible.

_Humor from the humorless. Funny from a fun-sponge._

And judging by the deep frown on his face— I've _stumped_ him. Or, at least, that's what I thought I had done, before his face lit up like a lamp in an epiphany.

"I got it," Stefan says confidently, walking slightly ahead of me and backwards so that he continues to face me through our journey to the cafeteria.

"What do you call an alligator in a vest?" He asks, and I immediately groan.

"Stefan, please don't do this," I beg, face descending into a pout as his green gaze turns self defensive.

"Hey! Trust me," he replies, gaze bright and playful— unlike anything I saw in the original timeline— but, I absolutely do not believe him.

I already feel myself cringing in preparation for how terrible this joke is going to be, and I hate it.

My eyes are serious, spotting the cafeteria a bit behind Stefan as I say, "I'm telling you right now that if you finish this joke— it's gonna throw of my groove for the rest of the day. And, I'll be forced to throw you out of the nearest window."

His gaze is firm on mine as we near the cafeteria, the lunch bell sounding as I groan in defeat. Stefan grins victoriously, clearing his throat as we get in line for food.

"What do you call an alligator in a vest?" Stefan asks.

"What?" I moan, wanting him to get it over with already.

I hear other people begin to file in behind us as we grab food and place it on our trays, the loud shuffle of feet making Stefan y'all louder as he says, "An investigator."

The lunch lady is in front of me, waiting for me to swipe my I.D. to let the state pay for my lunch— but, my dead-eyed gaze slowly swivels to Stefan.

I give him a good hard look, making him looking like he was about to explode with laughter as I said in a dead-pan, "If there were no witnesses, you would've paid dearly for that."

Stefan finally breaks into a low barrage of chuckles as I swipe my card and grab my tray— but, I see him lurch forward like he's been shoved, getting marinara all over his shirt. My caramel eyes immediately snap to whoever's behind him, only to see a glaring Tyler looking at Stefan.

_Huh?_

_"Hey!"_ I yell, setting my tray on the salad bar, and yanking Ty back before he goes at Stefan again.

My arms twine around his muscular, tanned one like vines, and I see someone go over to help clean up Stefan. Lo and behold, Elena Gilbert has come to save the day. Tyler's angry dark eyes snap to mine just as Matt comes to help me hold him back, and he angrily brushes us both off.

"I'm _fine. _Why don't you go help Stefan, Alessia?" he snapped, before disappearing into the amassing crowd now surrounding the lunch line.

_What the hell was his problem?_

———

Me, Bonnie, Caroline. and Elena are all sitting outside of the Grill.

I sip on my orange juice while reaching for another of mine and Caroline's chili fries while Bonnie talks about the comet.

"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending _doom,_" she says with a teasing wiggle of her fingers, "The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, that it created a _bed_ of supernatural activity."

I roll my eyes before taking another fry, "I'm sureGrams knows since she was there. The woman's old as dirt."

Bonnie smacks me on my shoulder as Caroline and Elena giggle at my jab.

Caroline decides to pick up on my joking energy by adding on, "Yeah. Then you poured Grams another shot, and she told you about the _aliens_."

I choke laugh on my fry as Bonnie tries to stifle her own laugh. We had all gotten into the habit over the years of making fun of Grams, so Bonnie didn't look at all bothered like she has in my memories, instead accepting the joke for what it was. Caroline then turns her attention back to Elena, and I take a _looong_ draw from my orange juice in preparation for what would happen.

"So then what?" The blonde prods at the brunette.

"So then, nothing!"

A fine blonde brow arched in disbelief as she rested her face on her hand, "You and Stefan '_talked' _all night? There was no sloppy first kiss, or touchy freely of any kind?"

The fuddy dud Elena replies, "Nope. We didn't go there."

"Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends," my brow arches at that, "Okay? You are supposed to share the smut."

I roll my caramel eyes at Caroline's shenanigans, "I'm really regretting buying you that spicy romance novel as a gag gift. I'll never be able to _unhear _you saying 'smut'."

She then squints at me, playfully glaring before turning back to the doppelgänger. Elena looked down at the piece of paper she'd been folding for the last few minutes, "We just talked for hours."

"Okay, what is with the _blockage?_ Just, jump his bones already! Okay— it's easy. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. _Sex_."

"Profound," Elena replies snarkily, and it makes me wanna hit her more than I usually do. But, instead I swallow it.

"You know, Elena," I say, trying to speed up her _leaving _already, "Care has a point. Every straight-leaning girl wants to be all up in that walking Adonis. I don't know _why_ you're wasting time."

She looks down thoughtfully at that, before spinning around and grabbing her things from her chair. Bonnie looks a little surprised at her sudden movement and asks, "Where are you going?"

"Caroline and Alessia are right— it _is_ easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do."

And with that Elena walked away.

I look after her in confusion.

_Did she forget we drove her here? _

I raise an eyebrow at Bons and she shrugs, knowing Elena was probably walking back over here now. But, she then looks at me with an obvious question.

"So, I need to run to the library to finish up that assignment I got in AP Lit. Can you drop Elena off at the Salvatores?"

_To protect her, _is left unsaid, but I can practically hear it.

Groaning, I smack my head against the table as Elena finally gets her small ass back here. Bonnie sets her keys on top of my head before she fills in Elena that I'm taking her. The doppelgänger looks about as happy about this as I do.

Finally, I grab the keys and sit up, a loud sigh leaving my mouth as I wave 'bye' to Caroline. "Come on, Elena. I'll take you to your boo-thing's house."

_I shouldn't have said it'd be a good day._

_———_

The car ride was so awkward that I breathed out a sigh of relief once we actually got to the Salvatore house.

Elena hops out of the car like her ass is on fire and I put the car in park. I'm not a dick, I won't leave her stranded out here with two vampires as much as I'd like to.

Mostly because Bonnie would be _livid. _

I crank up the radio, and for about thirty seconds I'm good; I'm vibing. But, that mood changes once Elena comes back to the car _way _too early.

_What the hell, Damon?_

_"_No one's home, and the door is locked," she says as she opens the car door and huffs into the seat.

I roll my eyes since I _know _they're both home, and I can't keep dealing with Elena without a ten-minute break in-between periods. I might crash the car on purpose to put me out of my misery.

So with that thought in mind, I kick my foot out of the driver's side door and get out, telling Elena to hang on for a sec.

Walking to the door and looking hard at it, i concentrate my magic on it, whispering, "_Patentibus._"

A prideful grin works it's way up my cheeks at the loud click I hear from the door, and I turn, waving to Elena to get her ass inside. She looks at me like I'm a criminal as she strides up to me.

"How'd you get it open?"

I decide to run with the 'criminal' persona and say nonchalantly, "There was a key in the plant. _You're welcome."_

Her glare is adorable in the idea that she thinks I'm intimidated by it, and then there's a very handsome Damon Salvatore leaning up against the front door.

"Welcome back, Aly Cat," he says to me with a smirk, and I glare back at him, "Breaking and entering is a crime, you know?"

_Bastard. _

_He knew I was here and just wanted me to be part of the dickery. _

Elena jumps at the voice and looks at me, flabbergasted.

"You _know _this guy, Alessia?"

I fight back an eye roll before stuffing my hands in my hoodie, "We're acquaintances."

He puts on a face of mock hurt and clutches his chest like I've wounded him, "Aw, I thought we were _besties_."

I shake my head at his nonsense, albeit, _gorgeous _nonsense, and he turns his attention to poor little Elena.

"You must be Elena," he says, getting _way _too into her personal space to make her feel uncomfortable, which she obviously is.

_Amateur._

_"_I'm Damon. Stefan's brother."

His blue eyes are flashing mischievously, and I'm seeing in full swing his alluring 'bad boy' charm.

She blinks up at him, shaking her head slightly, "Stefan never told me he had a brother."

Damon then raises his eyebrows playfully, luring Elena into the mystery of _why _Stefan didn't tell her.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second."

I, then, promptly turn to go sit my ass in the car when Damon pops up next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and steering me back to the entrance, "You too, Lessia! All are welcome in House Salvatore."

I mutter, "Even the unwilling?"

He leans down to my ear and I can feel his breath on my neck, making my heart race.

_What's with this guy and personal space? _

Then he whispers back, "_Especially_ the unwilling."

_Ugh, the man is a gorgeous vampire **headache**. _

He releases me, going over to guide Elena to the living room that's probably called something a lot fancier, like 'foyier', and she looks around at all the antiques and gorgeous dark wood furniture.

_I should probably learn the different types of wood besides white oak. I'm gonna start looking uneducated._

"Wow," Elena sighs, entranced by the boardinghouse's splendor, "This is your living room?"

Damon shrugs slightly, and it calls my attention to his now very visible muscular arms.

_And can I hear a **goddamn** amen_. _Such pretty— brain can't handle. _

**FOCUS!**

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction," he says nonchalantly as if _everyone _has these. _Well maybe in his time they did. "_It's a little kitschy for my taste."

After a short pause, he turns towards Elena, and I leave her to his mercy as I pick up an old looking book from the corner table I'm next to. I'm sure he won't mind if I explore while he does his thing.

_Huh, a second edition '_Alice in Wonderland.' _I'm jealous._

I listen to Damon speak as I carefully lead through the aged pages.

"I see why my brother's so smitten," he starts off, and if I didn't know any better— I'd say he sounded genuine.

"It's about time. For a while there, I thought he'd never get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him," Damon finishes.

Oh yeah, the whole 'who's Katherine?' caper.

I'd almost forgotten about how _stupid _Elena was gonna be for the next week or so...

Well, moreso than usual, anyway.

Couldn't really understand why she thought she was entitled to so much personal info when they've only talked for a couple days. How very like Elena to be entitled.

She looks very concerned at the moment about this 'ex-girlfriend' of his, as if he should've been single up until he met her.

"The last one?" The doppelgänger asks, confused for some reason.

"Yeah, Katherine. His girlfriend?" A shake of her head and her display of prominent worried doe eyes, and I can see that Damon knows he's got her, "_Oh_, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet."

"Nope."

"Oops," _Liar_, i think as Damon continues, "Well, I'm sure it'll come up now... Or, _maybe_ he didn't want to tell you, because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how _those _relationships end."

Damon gives her a mischievous smirk and I can't help but smile. Damon the Dick was an absolute treat to watch in action, and the fact that it was causing trouble for Doppelena was just the cherry on top.

Elena boldly looks up at him, a certain stubbornness in her eyes that I'm well acquainted with.

"You say it like _every _relationship is doomed to end."

"I'm a fatalist," he quips back without even blinking, "Hello, _Stefan."_

At hearing his name, I put the ancient book back down and finally glance around the room.

It's weird seeing this in person, instead of the window of my memories. Stefan's face is set in stone as he sees Elena next to Damon, and when he hears the book hit the table, his serious emerald gaze realizes I'm there as well. We lock eyes for a moment, until his gaze turns angry and accusing and he snaps back to Elena.

"Elena," he greets icily, his voice cool— like he's trying his hardest not to beat the _shit_ out of Damon.

_Even though he'd lose._

"I didn't know you were coming over," Stefan indirectly asks, continuing to glare at a smug, blue-eyed bastard.

Elena just smiles warmly, walking towards him— and, I can't tell whether or not she's pretending to not hear the strain in his voice.

"I know. I should've called, I just—."

Damon cuts her off, "Oh, don't be silly. You're welcome _any_ time! Isn't she, Stefan?" He then pauses before turning to throw a wink my way, "You too, Aly Cat."

I can't stop the eye roll that takes me, starting to make my exit towards the entrance, and _fully_ done with the vampire melodrama today.

"I'll wait in the car. See you Salvatores.. well, whenever I see ya."

Then I walked out, unknowingly leaving two brothers looking after me, a bit stunned and a bit intrigued.

_Stupid pretty vampires. _

_I'm not getting roped into your weird macho challenge._

_———_

**_A/n: Hey! So, since someone asked, I'm really only writing this story till either season 3 or 4. Clearly Alessia is unintentionally changing a lot, and I have no idea what that would do to any of the seasons past those. _**

**_Thanks for all the love and comments, they really are super motivating to keep spitting out chapters. Have a good night!_**

**_———_**


	6. Six

**Arcane: **_def. _secret, mysterious, understood only by few

———

**Chapter 6: I Still Don't Get The Candle Thing**

———

_Damn, I look good. _

After quickly dropping Elena off after she got the ol' cold shoulder from Stefan, and a power combat training session, I had hopped in the shower and found myself with some extra time.

I had started by just taking some extra time to make myself feel pretty by straightening my hair— but, it had quickly descended into a full-on get-ready after analyzing however my body decided to be shaped today.

My thighs aren't thin, they've leaned heavily towards being thick and muscular with all of the competitive sports. I have wide hips, and tiny tits.

Is it my dream body?

_Nope. _

But, I do love it for being unique.

Not to mention, my ass looks _fantastic _in skinny jeans, which I'm wearing tonight. I stick with my regular black booties because, for one, they're only a couple inches tall so they're easy to do pretty much everything in, and two, they're _so _cute for fall weather.

I grab a burgundy spaghetti string top that has a cute little snakeskin pattern, and a jean jacket. Grabbing a gold ring belt, I wrap it around my belt loops before grabbing some gold jewelry and hoop earrings. My makeup has also come together brilliantly, and I'm starting to think that maybe this stupid comet is actually _good _luck! A dust of warm brown shimmery eyeshadow, a swing of perfect winged eyeliner, my skin is literally pristine, and my cheeks are rosy.

_Holy shit, have I **peaked?** Is this as pretty as I get?_

Well, if that happens to be the case I don't particularly care, this is pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I pluck at my now straight hair, and sigh happily at the amount of volume I've got going on.

_Maybe it's time to dye it again? _

I shrug my shoulders before walking downstairs to plop my butt on the couch 'till Bons is ready to go. As I pick up a magazine on the coffee table, I notice a certain Grams-shaped blur inching closer to me from my peripheral.

"Lessy, my girl. We have much to discuss."

_Ugh, I don't **wanna. **_

I still manage to pull a fake smile up as she sits in her rocking chair across the living room. She sighs before wrapping herself in her bathrobe.

"How have you been, Lessy? These visions you've been getting, they aren't harming you in anyway are they?"

_Nah, if the memories **really **bothered me, I would've shaved my head and gotten a tattoo at this point._

I shake my head slowly, looking up into her soulful gaze, before pointedly saying, "Don't worry, Grams. _This _Bennett witch is doing dandy, since I'm aware of what's going on. Can't say the same for the _other.._."

It's Grams' turn to sigh. Me and her had gone back and forth like this recently in the last few years. Me constantly trying to get her to be honest with Bons, her coming up with a million reasons not to.

"It is not time. You _know _that," she replies, muttering a couple words in Latin, and I see the fireplace light up like it has a switch.

"Well, Grams— no offense— but, it's been almost _ten_ years. I need to know if the 'time' is gonna happen before I'm as brittle as you."

She rolls her mature eyes at my antics before chuckling, grabbing Em's grimoire off the corner table, "You are _very _amusing, as usual."

I'm about to respond that I wasn't kidding, when a flurry of high heeled shoes thunder down the staircase. In struts, the one and only, Bons.

She smiles brightly at me, "Lessy! You look _so _good! I told you that straight hair would look good on you."

"You look gorgeous, too, Bons," I say, taking in her royal blue and black blouse combo.

Her brown hair is curled lightly and framed around her face, and a splash of grey eyeshadow makes her green eyes really pop. She also has a long sparkly necklace draped along her neck, and I can't help but think Emily's talisman would go better with the outfit.

_Oh, well._

I then smile cheekily, "And as for my hair— you've got your brand of chemical warfare for yours, and I've got mine."

She playfully shoves my shoulder before turning to Grams, and I watch her entire demeanor change.

Now looking much more professional instead of warm and endearing, Bonnie looks at Grams and her glass of Jack and grimoire almost clinically, and for a moment it makes me a bit sad. It was never my intention to be more of a driving force between them, but Grams brought it on herself.

Still though— if my plans went as optimistically as possible, all of my Fantastic Four would make it through alive— and my Grams was both consciously and unconsciously pushing the both of us away with all of these secrets.

"We'll be back before two, Grams," Bonnie says in a very controlled tone, but Grams doesn't even notice it as she takes another sip of her Jack Daniels and nods sagely.

"Be careful, girls. This comet will only bring out the evil hidden in this town," she warns.

Me and Bonnie don't respond, just nod at the same time before making our way out the front door.

Turning to double check on Bons, I can see the gears turning inside her head as we get in the car. Those heavy thoughts promised that something interesting would happen tonight.

_———_

We've been driving for a few minutes now in complete silence.

Guessing by the direction: we are picking up Caroline first— and I am sitting there trying to figure out what is turning around in my little sister's head.

She suddenly turns to me— green eyes very serious, and somber before saying, "I'm going to talk to Stefan Salvatore tonight."

For a few moments there, she looks like she's scared I am going to be upset with her over it, when my train of thought is actually running the complete opposite direction.

It'd probably be for the best to have Bonnie introduce herself as a power player before the rest of the chessboard files into town. The earlier, the better.

I can't help but smile mockingly at when I thought I was going to be able to follow the original timeline.

Just my existence had proven to have a considerable butterfly effect that would most likely drastically change the future.

Tyler wasn't a total rage cage; Bonnie wasn't totally reliant on Elena's friendship; Caroline had someone who genuinely cared about her; etc.

Really, I had changed too much already to try and keep everything on track like before. Not to mention, I'd have to sacrifice the majority of my 'No Death' squad to keep that timeline— so, to hell with that.

If I was gonna mess with it a bit, I might as well mess with a lot and make it work double-time in my favor.

_We, Bennetts, really do like making a mess of what nature intended._

I nod at Bons in acquiescence, "That's fine. After all, I'm like ninety nine percent sure Stefan wouldn't try to harm you, not to mention you know enough light self defense magic that a vegetarian vampire shouldn't be a problem. But, if you're trying to talk to 'big brother' Salvatore— I want to be there just in case, _capisce?"_

Bonnie blinks at me slightly, a knowing grin appearing on her face soon after.

"Capisce."

———

Caroline is as sunny, happy, and amazing as she always has been as soon as she gets into the car— and, I can't stop the sigh of relief that leaves me when I see that Stefan's brutal rejection hasn't upset her _too _much.

She talks animatedly about several different things as we start the drive up to Elena's, before gasping loudly, "Speaking of 'eye candy,' can you guys use your witchy powers to find that _hottie _from Mainline?"

Both me and Bonnie blink in shock knowing _exactly _what hottie she was referring to. We both had thought she hadn't seen Damon since she hadn't brought it up before now.

_God fucking dammit, Caroline. _

I shrug nonchalantly, like what I heard didn't bother me as I peak at her through the rear view mirror to gauge her reaction, "That _hottie _was a vamp, Care."

Care dramatically gasps and clutches the vervain locket me and Bonnie got for her yesterday.

I also had her on a strict regimen of morning vervain tea so she'd be safe— but, back to the convo.

Her cornflower blue eyes were wide and she looked positively distraught as she asked, "Are you saying that all vamps are _that_ drool-worthy?"

**_Very much so._**

"All that and a side of beans, chica."

———

After picking up a 'more moody than usual' Elena, we parked our car up by the town hall, walking down to the park area.

And even I had to admit, the place looked _magical_.

White lights hung in several aspens and other trees I don't know the name of, there were people starting to light their candles so they could pass the flame, a gesture of good will to our neighbors apparently. We all grab our own candles, and I lose myself in thought.

_It's like a preemptive wake for the town of Mystic Falls, _I think darkly.

Our group waltzes up to Tyler and Matt, but Ty automatically bypasses the rest and just hugs me tightly.

_Shit, I forgot to check on him. _

He was probably feeling _awful _about Vicki getting attacked in the woods, that he left her alone. Tyler Lockwood could really be a sweetheart at times.

I squeeze him back tightly as everyone looks on, Bonnie, Care, and Matt with some sadness, and the forever clueless Elena with confusion.

"You okay, Ty?" I ask softly, rubbing his back as he buries his head in my neck.

"It's been rough. Can we talk again later?" He murmurs back from within my hair. I nod and he lets me go slowly, like it's hard to.

_Poor baby. _

Then, Elena calls attention to herself, per the norm, by sticking her candle in Matt's lit one, saying 'thank you' as if he'd done it on his own. Matt looks slightly confused but rolls with it, and I can _see _the lovesick look in his eyes.

_Double poor baby._

Elena then gives him a warm smile back, further encouraging the lovelorn look in Matt's baby blues. Then, she turns to light the next person's candle— but, it's _very_-surprisingly, _not _Stefan.

_What the hell? Where's that gorgeous vampire hiding? _

_He was there before!_

I turn to start looking for him, and bump into a _very _familiar broad muscular chest.

_S__weet **Jesus- **_

Stefan's soft forest green eyes meet mine, looking absolutely splendid in _any _lighting once again, but this time it's the glow of candlelight.

_Wait, his is already lit? _

As I try to regain my bearings, a smile works it's way up my face at his mirrored one.

"Hello, Alessia. Fancy seeing you here?" He greets teasingly.

I feel myself flush for a second, then looking literally _anywhere _other than at the piercing emerald eyes in front of me.

"Well, it'd be rude to be the only person in town besides my Grams to not participate, don't ya think?"

Stefan smiles a little bigger at my cheek, before lifting his candle up to make me notice it, "Speaking of which, you're looking a little flameless there."

I smile at him before rolling my caramel eyes, before moving my hand over the empty wick, causing it to light. "Thank you, but as you can see it's already lit."

The chuckle that leaves his attractive lips makes my tummy feel funny, and I once again find myself surprised at how _easy _it is to make him laugh and why he didn't do it more often in what I remembered.

Then, in a moment of weakness, our eyes meet again. His gaze is intense— like he has something he needs to say.

I'm about to ask what's up, when my thought process is ruined by an annoyingly-familiar voice.

"Oh, hey, Stefan," Doppelena says, standing off to the side of us. It's obvious that she's not a very happy camper at the moment, but she keeps the fake smile up, "Just the guy I wanted to talk to."

_Ew._

I roll my eyes in annoyance, promptly turning on my boot heel to exit the scene.

"Catch ya later, Stefan," I say with a mock wave behind me, and I proceed with my mission to go talk to Tyler.

———

Okay, so— I can't find the fucker _anywhere. _

I walk into the Grill, glancing around to see if he's anywhere in here, when I see someone wave their hand at me to get my attention. My light brown eyes immediately link with an ice blue pair and I inwardly groan.

_**Another** one? _

_Did the universe decide 'let's test Alessia's willpower around the most attractive men to walk the Earth?'_

I walk over to him sitting at the bar, and he gives me his signature smirk, "Hey there, Aly Cat. Aren't you supposed to be lighting birthday candles?"

I take the barstool next to him, and he compels the bartender- _Steven? Murray?_\- to bring me a double shot of bourbon. "To be honest with you, D, I _really _don't get the candle thing. Like I think I get the concept, but I'm not a hundred percent."

He chuckles mockingly as I take a sip of the bourbon. And let me tell you, that shit was _strong. _Lucky for me, I'm a party regular so I've learned how to control my facial reactions to bad drinks.

I turn to look at him, "So, did you do anything interesting today _besides _dragging me into your little dominance competition with Stefan?"

Now it's his turn to roll his pretty blue eyes, "Aw, come on, you know it was funny. I saw you smiling behind that book."

"Funny? Yes. Annoying? Also, yes. I don't wanna be part of you guys' big dick competition. Not my business, and I personally don't care about it enough to get involved."

A dark brow quirks on his handsome face as he turns to peer at me again, "What? You're not mad I'm being a dick to your little vampire BFF?"

I laugh at that and take another sip, feeling my tummy start to get warm. "Hell no, me and Stefan just met recently, and yeah, he's cool, but I'm not trying to be all up in your family business. I'm here to get you into the tomb and back out with Kat, and that's it."

_That's a bit of a lie, I'm in this mess for at least the next ten years give or take._

Damon smirks at that, bemused, and looks like he's about to ask something else when we're interrupted by _another _annoying voice. _What's with me getting interrupted by my least favorite people today? _

"I know you," Vicki Donovan states, and after rolling my eyes at my absolute shit luck, I notice the large bandage on her neck. I expect to feel something: guilt, shame, _anything, _but nada. I don't feel anything as I look at her drugged out face besides a bit of pity for Matt. Whether it's me feeling bad that he has _her _as his only remaining family member, or that she's gonna end up leaving him too because she couldn't control her urges, I wasn't sure.

Damon looks absolutely amused, probably surmising that Stefan _did _try to compel her and happy it was so _weak. _Vicki then glances at me, a disgusted look on her face.

"Of course you know this guy, _Alessia. _Wasn't enough for just your grandma to be an alcoholic, huh?" she says venomously, and I just raise my drink to her mockingly before downing the whole thing. Damon laughs loudly at my nonchalant attitude towards her jab, causing Vicki to look back at him in faint recognition.

"Well, that's rude _and _unfortunate," he says, sizing her up with his beautiful ice blue eyes, before turning back to me, the obvious question in his eyes.

"Knock yourself out," is all I say, and Damon's grin takes on a more feral look. _Hot _**damn. **_Now that's a look I want on my wall. _

Vicki stupidly wanders closer to me and the beautiful man next to me, and I wave the bartender for another drink for me.

"I don't- I don't know _how_, but... Your face," Tears start welling up in her eyes as I start sipping on my next glass.

She chuckles it away, wandering off towards the bathroom with an, "Excuse me. Sorry."

Damon watches her leave wolfishly before looking back at me, "You're no Glinda the Good Witch, are you?"

I laugh, throwing my head back, and I see him examine my figure _intensely _in my peripheral, "Good and bad are human constructs to try and dictate behavior that's conducive to the survival of my species. There's no _good _or _bad, _Damon, there just _is._"

He looks at me like I'm a puzzle he can't figure out, and I look him dead in the eye before downing the rest of my drink again. I hop off of the barstool and give Damon a pat on the shoulder, "Bye, Damon. Thanks for the drinks."

I walk out, feeling his eyes on me the entire way.

*

I walked around looking for everyone for another thirty minutes before walking back to the Grill. I'd totally forgotten that _that's _where everyone was when they started looking for Vicki in my memories. I walk in at the same time as Jeremy Gilbert, another one of my not-so favorites. We both approach the group table at the same time, and before I can even say 'hi' to the rest of the group, Jeremy starts spouting off.

"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?"

Tyler's brown eyes harden as he looks at the younger Gilbert before replying mockingly, "You're her stalker. You tell us."

Jeremy gets more urgent, "I can't find her."

Tyler immediately banters back, "She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."

I see Matt getting more and more concerned by the second, while the rest of the table really only cares that Matt is getting upset rather than that his sister is missing. Well, I mean, Elena looks bothered by the 'pill pusher' comment, but not because it was rude to her brother but rather because it made her look bad.

"What's with the pill pusher?" Doppelena asks.

"Ask him," Ty quips back.

"You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy asks angrily, all his teen angst practically spilling on the wood table. Caroline and Bonnie sip their drinks, clearly enjoying the drama but not saying anything, and I can't say I'm _not_ entertained as well.

"Are you _dealing_?" Elena asks more pressingly.

"She's never gonna go for you," Tyler says, his gaze unflinching on Jeremy.

"She already _did, _over and over and _over _again," Jeremy replies cockily, and I scrunch my nose up at how _gross _he makes it sound. Sex isn't bad, but Jesus, this awkward situation was.

Even as Tyler bats him off with a 'yeah, _right' _the rest of the table is stunned that Vicki actually took Jeremy's very desperate V-card, and I'll be the first to say that seeing this get messier was _hilarious_. Caroline is the first to break the momentary shocked silence.

"You slept with _Vicki Donovan?_" Then she corrects herself, "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with _you?_"

_Slay him, Carolineeee._

Tyler immediately states like it's a fact, "No way. There's no way."

Jeremy's glare turns cruel, and I prep myself for what he's about to say. I knew that Ty didn't force himself on Vicki in my timeline, but depending on what Jeremy said, he may or may not be walking out of here to find Vicki with a bloody nose.

"What? I'm better than some stupid fucking jock who's own _parents_ would disown him for fucking her, let alone being with her."

_Yup, that'll do it._

I yank my fist back and slam it _hard _into Jeremy's nose, and he falls back on the floor. Elena cries out and immediately rushes over to his aid as I shake my knuckles loose. It didn't hurt _that _bad, but punches were painful for all parties involved, one moreso than the other. Tyler, Matt, Caroline, and Bonnie are all stunned at my violent actions, but I can see in Tyler's eyes that he _knew _I wouldn't let that shit slide.

The doppelgänger is now glaring at me, "What the _hell _is wrong with you, Alessia?!?"

I sigh, and I feel Caroline move to my side, grabbing my knuckles and looking at me in what I'm guessing is an expression of worried, proud, and surprised all wrapped into one.

"Look, Elena," I start, glaring down at the little shit while blood ran down his nose, "You need to keep your brother in check. Talk shit, get hit."

Matt looks so upset, but I know in his eyes that he agrees with what I said, "You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?"

I make quick eye contact with Bonnie and I can tell she both approves and disapproves of what I did, as we all start to file out of the Grill to 'look' for Vicki.

_Ugh. I don't wanna._

_———_

Tyler has dipped during the search, I'm guessing he forgot about our talk, but I'd get him tomorrow.

In the meantime, me, Bons, and Care all sat at the Grill trying to relax after such a busy night.

"I can't _believe _you punched Jeremy, Lessy," Bonnie exasperatedly sighs as she sips her lemonade.

"I did what I needed to," I shrug.

She glares at me, but there's no _real _heat in it before she laughs, "No. You did what you _wanted _to."

Caroline laughs with her, like a _traitor_, before adding, "That's literally how you live your life, Aless, doing what you want when you want. You're a total babe, and I will never know _how _you're single!"

"I'm mean," I affirm quickly as we see the _flawless _Stefan Salvatore go over and talk to Matt.

"Ugh," Caroline sighs, "It's just _so _much _drama. _Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?"

Bonnie 'yeah's in agreement, and I nod saying, "It's the daddy issues, chica. They're _powerful _motivators."

Stefan suddenly walks up to our table and I couldn't stop myself from checking him out if I _wanted _to. Which I didn't.

_Pretty people make me weak._

"Oh, hi, Alessia. Heard about your hand, you okay?"

His eyes are so _green, _and _soft, _and _caring. _I wanna swim in 'em.

_**Focus**. _

"Oh, I'm fine," I finally sigh, rotating my slightly aching wrist, "It felt _great,"_

He shakes his pretty bronze head in mock disapproval, but I can see the amusement in his eyes. The vampire then turns to Bonnie and Caroline. I hadn't known if Bonnie had talked to him while I was gone, but by the knowing look on his face I know now she had probably put the fear of God into him.

"Have any of you seen Elena?"

I'm too tired to be annoyed, so I just reply, "Probably patching up her brother's face."

The table stifles a laugh before Bonnie bends down, reaching into her purse.

"I'm gonna give you—," She starts saying while writing down something on a piece of paper, "—Elena's cellphone number and her email. She is big on texting, and you can tell her that I said so."

I was curious before if this would happen at all. But, whatever Stefan and Bonnie had discussed, she felt at enough ease to continue to allow him to know her best friend. Bonnie was a really good judge of character, though, so I knew that Stefan's broody, apologetic nature would probably win her over, but not this fast.

She passes him the piece of paper and everyone can see when she senses the presence of death with him. However, she powers through it like a champ, and continues to smile warmly at him.

We all went home safe and sound that night, and Caroline never got used as a blood bag by Damon.

A very nice night, after all, I thought as I went to sleep, trying to ignore the slight pulsing in my hand.

———

**_A/n: Hey guys! Thanks again for all of the comments, I'm so happy to see who you're shipping and what you think of my story! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed making it! _**

**_———_**


	7. Seven

**—————**

**A/n: ****Hi, guys. **

**Some sad news: my dog has passed away.**

** I wanted to get this update out for the announcement, but I'm taking some time to grieve. **

**I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and I promise I'll be back soon.**

**—————**

**Sphallolalia: **_def. _flirtatious talk that leads nowhere 

———

**Chapter 7: My Hair Doesn't Like Drama.**

———

Today had started relatively uneventful.

I did my morning workout, did some meditation to focus my memory for the next couple weeks, watered the garden, etc. really just a relatively calm morning.

I also got a great laugh while chilling out on the bleachers when Vicki told Jeremy _just _how much she liked him— by saying that she just wanted to be friends. Really, today was turning out to be epic.

So, imagine my surprise when I'm yanked into the janitor's closet by a random arm.

The moment the door closes, I spin the assailant into an arm bar where I could easily dislocate their shoulder, and shove the big motherfucker up against the wall.

_It's way too fucking dark in here. _

I have no idea who the hell this is under the cover of darkness.

_Katherine? Anna? Mason? _

"Ouch! Lessia— let _go!!"_ I hear a deep, _familiar_ voice whisper-yell in pain. I immediately let go of him and reach for the light switch, flicking it on and glaring at him before repeatedly smacking his chest.

"Seriously, Ty?! I'm gonna beat the shit outta you! What's up with the cloak and daggers?"

_I could've seriously hurt him if he hadn't said anything!_

He rubs his right shoulder in tight hard circles, looking back at me sheepishly, "Sorry, Lessia. I just really needed to talk to somebody."

I roll my eyes, because this idiot didn't know he had just started up the powerful gossip mill that was Mystic Falls High. Everyone and their sister was gonna know I was in the janitorial closet with Tyler for an indiscriminate amount of time; and, I felt it in my _bones_ that I was gonna have to stay **_far _**away from Vicki Donovan if I didn't want to participate in a druggie rumble.

"Goddammit, Tyler. Vicki is literally gonna try to shank me when she hears about this," I say with a huff.

I wouldn't lose a fight with her, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did a surprise attack and stabbed me in the spine. Or tried to rip my head off.

_Oh shit. I need to also be **way** away from her when she goes all 'bloodsucker.'_

_———_

And so, we sat and discussed all about Vicki, Jeremy, and his parents.

He got a little frustrated at certain parts, but I helped him through it with some of the relaxing breathing exercises that I found in several different anger management books. And so, as I started to wait the three hours before cheer practice, since I had gotten a free last period this year, I had a lot on my mind.

After all, I still needed to decide whether or not I wanted to actually _see _Mr. Tanner die.

I really didn't care much about him, but how _little _did I care was the question. I could actually make his death painless if I was there, a quick wave of my hand and it would be like going to sleep.

_I think I owe him **that** much— since I'm letting him die, after all._

Suddenly, I feel a buzz in my pocket. I furrow my brows at the message.

—

**From: **Eternal Stud

**Msg: **Where are u right now? I need help with something

—

Closing my eyes in annoyance, I wonder when the _hell _that handsome devil got a hold of my phone, before messaging back:

—

**Msg: **Damon? How?

—

I didn't have to wait long for a response, as my phone started ringing with 'Eternal Stud' flashing on the screen.

I pull it up to my ear with a sigh.

"Hello, Damon," I say, checking out my '_desperately-_in-need-of-a-manicure' nailbeds, "How can I be of service?"

_"I know you said you don't want to be involved in me and Stefan's 'big dick' contest— but, I **might** have something of interest to you. If you do me a favor, of course," _he offers over the phone, voice a bit more gritty than usual.

_That's a gorgeous sound, I wonder if he just woke up._

I hum, mockingly thinking about it, "I dunno— _Eternal Stud._You'd have to have something pretty nice for me to say yes."

He chuckles at the name, _"I totally forgot about that. **But,** I have a pretty little necklace you might be interested in."_

I pretend to not know what he's talking about, but getting that talisman was important so, he'd pretty much already won me over.

"Jewelry, Damon?" I ask teasingly, "You trying to court me or something?"

_"Actually, yes, but only for pretend. Since you ex-nayed the pretty blonde I was going to use to get into Elena's circle, and I don't particularly like the idea of pretending to date a drug addict, I've chosen you as my new blood bag!"_

I squint in confusion before laughing, "Damon— you're cute and all— but, you're not going _anywhere_ nearmy neck."

He clicks his tongue before whistling lowly, _"Shame, pretty Bennett, but, fine. However, you **can** act like I have been to freak out Stefan. You know: wear scarves, act like you are being emotionally manipulated by me since I can't compel you, etc."_

I think hard on it for a few moments.

I did want to get a hand on that talisman before Bonnie even saw it. I held no illusions that Emily wouldn't try to destroy it, and there was no way in hell I was gonna let that happen if I could avoid it. Bonnie would probably be pissed once she found out I was lying— but, I'd cross that bridge once I got to it.

Not to mention, I would _never _turn down fucking with Elena's head.

"Alright, Salvatore, you got a deal. How do you wanna do this?"

I can hear the wicked grin in his voice as he replies, "Well, you could tell me where you are so I can drop you off at cheer practice. I can't _wait _to see her face."

"Fine, I'm at the school library, but just meet me in the parking lot. You can buy lunch since you're the rich one."

———

And that's how I found myself sipping milkshakes with the bad boy Salvatore.

"You didn't strike me as a 'cotton candy' guy," I comment nonchalantly, sipping at my cookies n' cream counterpart.

He throws a mock glare my way as he reaches into his pocket, dangling the talisman in front of me.

"Whatever. Here's your payment."

I smile warmly at him as I take it, immediately feeling Emily's ancient power running through it. I quicklystuff it in my bag, which causes Damon to look at me in question.

"Not gonna put it on?"

I shake my head, peering into his gorgeous ice blue eyes. "If you ever take my advice for anything, let it be this. Witches are _crafty_ by nature, pun intended, so don't touch anything they give you for too long unless you _seriously _trust them. That's how idiots get cursed or possessed."

His dark brows furrow as he narrows his piercing gaze on me, "And, you don't trust Emily?"

"I don't _know _Emily. I know who her friends were though, and that's good enough for me to be suspicious."

The elder Salvatore shrugs his shoulders at that, seemingly agreeing. Then, his wicked grin comes back onto his pretty face.

"Aren't you scared that Steffy won't forgive you for making him worry?"

I get a little intrigued at that.

That's the second time he's implied that Stefan and I were close, when Stefan hasn't even been here a week. Not to mention, there were a couple of other odd things I had noticed. Stefan said I looked familiar, that remark Damon made when we first met... very _odd _things to say...

_Nope. Nope, refuse to even think that into existence._

Instead, I glare at him, "Me and Stefan are nowhere _near _as close as you think we are. I just met the dude this week. I dunno how Elena worked her emotions up to where they act like soulmates, but me and Stefan aren't even friends."

He stares me down hard, and I'm starting to think this is his Damon brand of a lie detector. Even though I know what it is, it makes something in my stomach flutter and I hate it.

_Stupid gorgeous vampires are going to ruin me for anyone else. _

_Oh god, is this my absentee daddy issues ruining my life?_

Damon interrupts my spiraling train of thought with a chuckle, "Fine, but we need to get going if you're gonna be on time to cheer your little heart out."

He slaps a twenty on the table before yanking me up by the hand as I try to speed finish my milkshake. I try to pull away as he drags me out but his goddamn vampire strength has a perpetually strong grip and I know he's barely trying.

"Wait!! Damon! They can put it in a to-go cup!!"

He clearly does not care.

———

As upset as I am that I wasn't able to bring the milkshake, I have to admit that Damon's convertible is _hot. _

I'm entertaining myself by doing that water wave hand thing that people do out car windows, when I'm suddenly slapped with a light scarf to the face. I yank it off and glare at Damon's handsome side profile, noting the very self satisfied grin on his face.

"Where the hell did you get this scarf?" I ask irritably as I tie the dumb thing around my neck thick enough to look like a bite mark could be under it.

"Had a hunch you'd agree to my deal."

I roll my eyes. _No, he didn't, the liar. _Then, I remember that Caroline would literally _kill _me if I showed up in my regular clothes to practice, especially since I was running a few minutes late. Thankfully, I had spanx and a tank top on under what I was wearing already. A little more risqué than what I'm used to, but c'est la vie.

"Damon, can I trust you not to crash the car no matter what distractions may come?" I ask urgently, knowing I got like 5 minutes tops before he pulls up to the football field.

"...Yeah. Why?"

I don't answer, I just start stripping off my blouse and he suddenly swerves hard to the left, nearly hitting another car.

"_What the hell, Damon?!!?" _

"Sorry, not sorry, I wasn't prepared for an impromptu strip show!" He yells back before pausing thoughtfully, "Not that I mind though." He glances flirtatiously at my exposed collarbone.

"Not that kinda show, D," I say as I wrestle the rest of my unnecessary clothes off before grabbing my backpack to get my sneakers, "I don't want Caroline to mount my head on a pike. She'll be forgiving that I'm late because you're hot, but she won't be so kind if I show up completely unprepared for practice."

He smirks when I call him hot, and I see him sneaking peeks at my now _very _exposed thighs. The way he looks them up and down sends chills up my spine and makes my heart beat a little faster. But, thankfully, as I shove my things in my bag, we're pulled up into the parking lot.

I grab my bag, about to get out as I see the entire cheer team eyeing me with shock. _I can't believe it either, ladies. _As I reach for the door handle, I hear Damon whisper, "Showtime, Ally Cat."

A strong hand grips my wrist, yanking me back to him, and I turn to glare at him thinking he's just being a dick, when suddenly I feel something warm and soft touch my lips.

_**HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT-!!**_

My heart is pumping a million miles an hour as his lips move against mine, and I feel his hand reach into my hair to pull me closer, before suddenly releasing me.

I'm shocked, I'm not breathing, my life is a lie, I feel tingles on my lips still, and I do the only thing I can think of.

I dart the fuck out of the car, trying to keep my blush down as I walk over to the girls. _HOT **DAMN**, THAT WAS GREAT. _I can feel Damon's cocky eyes on my ass as I walk over, and I shoot a minor migraine spell his way, smirking when I hear a grunt.

Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena are completely flabbergasted with their mouths hanging open. I smile sheepishly, "Sorry I was late, guys. Big date."

I take it as a good sign that Bonnie isn't immediately angry with me. I'm going to guess that it's either because she trusts my judgment, or she thinks I'm up to something. _Kinda hope it's both. _However, Care Bear is in full steam Captain mode as she walks up to me, giving me a quick hug.

"Aless, everyone gets two free passes for being less than fifteen minutes late. _Do not _use your second one _anytime _soon," she mutters in a sickly sweet voice into my ear, and I know I'm gonna have hell to play later.

But, I get the most joy from Elena's face. The mixture of disbelief and suspicion is _priceless _and I would happily pay the embarrassing price of admission again. Caroline turns back to the rest of the squad, and I can see a good chunk of them looking at me in envy.

_This wasn't that bad of a deal at all._

"Alright ladies!" Caroline calls out, "Now that Co-Captain is here, let's start with the double pike herkey hurdler!"

They all start doing the regular practice cheer exercises as me and Care monitor, and I'm not surprised when Elena starts losing track of the different positions. She hadn't been to practice at the end of school, and she definitely hadn't shown up for cheer camp.

Not that I blamed her— but, it was definitely starting to show— as, she looked like a freshman rookie who had just learned the routine last night.

Caroline kept up her lovely perky smile, but, I could tell she was getting frustrated; and so, I decide to be the bad guy this time.

"Hey, Elena! Take an observation day," I call out, and she glares at me before proceeding to the back.

I wasn't saying that to be a bitch, she clearly doesn't know the routine. And besides, she's clearly happy with the change of location once the god that is Stefan Salvatore heads onto the football field with the rest of the boys.

I take a slight sneak peak over at him as I'm moving around to correct the girls' forms, and— _damn, _that boy's ass looks _fantastic _in football pants.

_No wonder Elena is so distracted__._

I see her wander off, and do nothing to stop it, because I personally don't care since she's gonna quit at some point this week.

_Not gonna pay attention to someone who clearly doesn't want to be here._

———

Oddly enough, Bonnie doesn't say anything about Damon.

Caroline was bombarding me with questions the moment practice let out and we got to the locker rooms, but all Bonnie said was, "I hope you know what you're doing."

Her faith in me is heartwarming, really. After the subject of obvious interest had been worn out, however, Bonnie started talking about how Elena had invited her and Caroline to dinner to get to know Stefan better.

"Which is weird," Caroline says as she switches from her sports bra to her regular one, "Because she never said anything about them dating."

Bonnie laughs, "Oh, they're dating, but she's panicking because they haven't even _kissed _yet. Stefan is apparently taking this _very _slow."

_Wait, what?_

In my memories, they were kissing like on the second day! What the hell was the hold up for this renegade Romeo and Juliet?

_Maybe it's because Bonnie put the fear of God into him_, I think, trying to reassure myself that it had nothing to do _directly_ with my interference.

"Well, you guys have fun with that. I'm gonna get a well deserved nap in," I say as I change into my spare sweats, desperate to be in something comfortable.

But, before we all exit the locker room, Care Bear grabs my hand gently.

"You're being safe, right, Aless? I know you're a bad ass witch and all, but I don't wanna see you hurt," she asks softly, her warm cornflower blue eyes warm and compassionate.

I turn and give a firm nod to both of them, "Don't worry, I have everything under control."

And as Bonnie lets out a sigh that sounds like it's been pent up for hours, I realize that me saying that I had it all covered was exactly what she needed to hear.

———

So, I'm now sitting on my couch, trying to catch up on the latest season of America's Next Top Model, and waiting for Damon to ask me over to Elena's to fuck with Stefan.

Did I _really _want to move from my spot on the couch?

No.

Was I more than happy to ruin Elena's dinner party?

_Absolutely._

I felt the repeated buzz in my pocket and immediately pulled my phone to my ear, "Hello?"

_"Hey, witchy. We gotta job to do,"_ Damon says, and I think I hear the rumble of his car and the radio in the background.

"What for?" I ask, trying to sound confused.

_"We're party crashing. Elena apparently has a little dinner going on at her house, and you are gonna be my ticket in."_

I sighed as I sat up on the couch, grateful that my Grams went to that weird Bingo Night thing across town for the evening.

"You know that Elena is about as fond of me as I am of her, right?"

_"Yeah, but Stefan isn't telling her anything, so she'll want to get to know me better out of curiosity,"_ he replies snarkily, and I roll my eyes at his perpetually patronizing tone.

"Whatever, I'll get dressed," I say, hopping up and walking up the stairs to my bedroom.

I hear the car stall on the other end of the line, and jump when I see said Eternal Stud sitting outside on my windowsill.

"Jesus _Christ— _Damon!" I rush over to open the window for him as I hang up the phone with my other hand.

He smirks at me wolfishly before playfully poking the force keeping him outside.

"Mind letting me in?"

I shrug before walking over to my closet, looking for a cute dress to wear as I quip back, "I actually _do._ Dunno how I feel about having a volatile vampire in my home."

He rolls his big beautiful blue eyes, smacking his head back as he leans back on the windowsill, "Fine. But, show me what you're wearing at least. I'm not showing up with you on my arm looking all frumpy."

"I never, _ever _look frumpy, D. Comfy cute? Yes. Frumpy and ugly? Not in my DNA," I correct as I toss out a my cream mid-thigh turtleneck dress onto my bed.

_Much better than that hideous scarf, anyway. _

I tossed a magazine that was sitting on my dresser at Damon as I take the dress and pantyhose and start to head toward the bathroom.

"Entertain yourself, I'll be out in like fifteen minutes."

_Give or take._

———

Okay, so it had taken thirty minutes— but, it wasn't my fault!

One of my gold hoops had gone MIA, and my normally very poofy curls were having a down day.

After a lot of teasing, I got it into the high ponytail I wanted, and I stuck with simple makeup since I was on a time crunch. A bit of gold eyeshadow on my eyes and cheekbones, blush, mascara, and lipgloss and I was bounding out of my bathroom at breakneck pace.

Damon glances up, clearly annoyed that we were late, but his gaze softened slightly as he looked me up and down.

_Don't blush, cheeks.__ Or, I swear to God I'll fill you with Botox._

"You look decent, so I'll overlook how late you are for our date," Damon announces, and I have to arch a brow at the dramatics.

Cue an eye roll from me as I grab my knee length brown leather boots and slide them on.

"You're lucky we have some pasta salad in the fridge, it'd be super rude to show up empty handed."

———

"Okay, so— let me get this straight. You don't want to talk on this car ride— _at all?_" I verify again, and this time Damon's hands clenched a bit around his steering wheel.

"Ask one more time, and I'll throw your heart out the window," he threatens darkly, but I just smile, fully aware that he can't kill me unless he wants to make this ritual _extremely _difficult for himself.

If he did, he'd have to ask Bons and Grams to help him instead, and I doubted they'd be so-inclined after he threw my heart out a window. I found myself in the unique position of being someone Damon needed to keep alive— so I wasn't going to hold back my personality whatsoever.

"What a charmer. That kind, sensitive nature is probably what Katherine likes about you," I sigh in a blasé tone, tapping my fingers on my dress-covered thigh as soft music played.

"Oh, _please,_" Damon snides my way, "I might've been a bit of a goody-two-shoes back then, but I'm nothing like that now."

I raise my brow and turn to look at him, wondering if he's dumb.

"Then, how do you know Katherine is gonna like you now?"

Damon didn't say a word for the rest of the drive.

———

Damon is the one who knocks on the door, and I put on a fake smile, clenching the pasta dish in my hands tightly.

Elena opens the door, and an annoyed look comes across her doe eyesat my form before she notices Damon— and the look turns more into surprised curiosity.

"Surprise!" I say, mimicking the compelled Care from my memories, "Bonnie and Caroline mentioned this dinner, so we brought pasta salad as a peace offering."

She looks like she's going to politely decline for a moment, before Damon puts on a charming smile, "Hope you don't mind."

I move to hand Elena the pasta dish to seal the deal, when Stefan walks into the room.

Those green eyes pierce me _hard, _and for a moment I feel a bit bad about the pain I see in them. I also get to see that pity turn to _blame_ when he spots his older brother.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asks, his tone controlled the same way it was back at the boardinghouse.

Damon grins mischievously back at him, and I'm taken aback at how _weird _it is to see this dynamic in full force. Like my memories were definitely one thing, but the tension was much more palpable in person.

_Ah, Damon the Dick is amusing._

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in," Damon replies in a tone promisingtrouble.

"Oh yeah," Elena says as she finally takes the pasta with a polite smile , "You can just-"

"No," Stefan interrupts, clearly trying to tell Elena with his eyes not to let his brother in, "He can't, um— he _can't _stay. _Can_ you, Damon?"

_A final plead._

"That's a little rude, Stefan," I add humorlessly, wanting to sit down and eat something, and Stefan's gaze snaps to mine. He glares at me, but it turns softer as he looks at my turtleneck, almost pitying me.

_Dumbass._

"We're just.. finishing up," he tries again, beautiful green eyes pleading with Elena to not be blind for once in her short life.

However, it's a plead in vain, because Elena's only ever been completely insipid when it comes to taking hints. Like when Caroline hinted that she liked Matt and Elena went on to date him the next week.

Although, that might've been just because she's a bitch.

"It's fine," she says with a warm smile, "Just come on in."

And with that, it's Damon: 2 and Stefan: 0.

Damon adorably grins at his feet before stepping inside; Stefan looking more stiff than I've ever seen him, giving a weak glare to Elena who just looks confused.

I start stepping towards the dining room where I see a blonde and brunette peaking around the corner, when I hear Damon's falsely polite tone say, "You have a beautiful home, Elena."

I hear her say thanks, happily, and I can't help the small smile that grows on my face.

_She's smiling after unknowingly letting the Devil into her home, how very like Elena._

———


	8. Eight

**Acatalepsy: **_def. _the impossibility of truly comprehending anything

—————

**Chapter 8: Dinner Parties Are Surprisingly Less Fun With Vampires.**

—————

_Maybe— if I pushed **REALLY**__ hard— I could get this butter knife through to my heart without a lot of pain_.

This dinner is not only awkward, it's unbearable.

I'm not near as delightfully sociable as Caroline is, so I'm not starting the conversation, _especially_ since Elena was super rude and just put my pasta salad in the fridge.

_Didn't even set it on the table— the bitch._

Bonnie was looking on with a look of vague amusement, and I could see that Caroline was waiting for the other shoe to drop. If there was one thing that my blonde bestie _lived _for, it was drama, and the dining room practically smelled of it. Stefan was glaring hard at Damon, Damon was smirking back, and Elena was acting completely oblivious to the tension entirely.

_Well, I would rather be literally anywhere else right now. _

As I twirl my fork in the dinner salad, I hear Elena clear her throat.

"Why don't we move over to the living room for dessert? Way more comfy than these chairs."

As we mosey over to the other room, I take note of my surroundings.

This house looks exactly the same as how I remembered it, and the last time I'd been over here was for Elena's 13th birthday bash. It looked like the Graysons hadn't even been gone, let alone died. It made me pity Elena a bit.

If I had to be around familiar surroundings that I had attached meaning to with a loved one who'd passed away, I don't think I could keep living there. I wouldn't be able to heal, and I knew from my memories that Elena never really healed properly either. She never quite moved on from any deaths that happened in her life, and there was a substantial amount.

_I don't know if that makes her strong or stupid._

We all start to take our seats, and I'm about to sit next to Bons when I feel a hand on my wrist pull me back gently. I turn and see Damon, and he gestures for me to take the seat next to him with a wink. _Don't roll your eyes... _I rolled my eyes.

_Welp, we tried. _

I plop down next to him as Elena comes in with cheesecake. _FINALLY! Something **good** at this party! _I can feel my leg start to bounce in excitement and Damon quirks a brow at me.

Bonnie explains so that I don't have to, "Cheesecake is her favorite food. Not favorite dessert, favorite _food. _She's had it at like, every birthday party we've had since I was five."

I happily dig in, and ignore where I am for a bit as I enjoy the chocolate raspberry cheesecake melting in my mouth. A completely blissful smile fills my cheeks as Caroline decides to do her awesome social butterfly thing and conquer the conversation.

Smiling at Stefan, in a chipper tone that sounds a _pinch_ too tight, Caroline says, "I cannot _believe _that Mr. Tanner let you on the team! Oh, Tyler must be _seething. _But, good for you! Go for it."

Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

Damon smiles disarmingly at Caroline and I see her cheeks start to flush. _I don't blame ya, chica. _"That's what I always tell him," I turn to him with a quirk of my brow, not quite remembering how this conversation went down, "You have to engage."

His arm wraps around my waist, his hand on my hip, and I accidentally bite my cheek at the unexpected contact. Damon squeezes my hip meaningfully, clearly wanting me to jump into the convo judging by the intense look in his baby blues.

"_Yeah_," I add, "Life is all about taking chances and doing things you never thought you could."

That was a little preachy. But, whatever.

Caroline jumps in yet again, "Yeah, for example, Elena wasn't so lucky today," she pauses, coolly looking at Elena, "It's only because you missed summer camp."

I take a sip of my coffee at the slightly sharper tone that came at the end of that.

About two months after the Graysons died, Elena had promised Caroline that she would come for the summer camp, since she was supposed to originally be in charge of helping make several routines for the upcoming year. Then, she bailed without even calling to let anyone know she wasn't coming.

Again, there was a bit of leniency because of her recent loss, but she could've said something instead of leaving us with empty practice slots for the two weeks of camp. Me and Caroline had to work our _asses _off to complete those routines in time for the actual practice segments, which resulted in almost 48 hours of no sleep.

And the worst part was: she hadn't apologized, just saying that she forgot.

If she thought that Caroline Forbes was one to forgive and forget, she was sorely mistaken— but by the stunned look in Doppelena's doe eyes, I was gonna guess she _had _thought that.

I hadn't been that bothered, since I didn't have high expectations from Elena when it came to keeping her word, but it had hurt Caroline.

Bonnie must have had a similar train of thought as her gaze flickered back and forth between Care and Elena, before looking at me with a look that said plain and simple: _yikes. _

Of course, the two vampire brothers were confused as to what the new sudden tension in the room was, but when Elena rolled her eyes and muttered 'whatever,'I knew that my favorite Queen Bee was gonna snap at her.

Still feigning polite conversation, Caroline crossed her legs as her cornflower blue eyes got steely.

Now, let me tell you, this is personally my _favorite _version of my perky blonde hurricane to witness.

She was an expert at the inner workings of Girl World, and knew exactly what to say to make her point— or _threat_— come across loud and clear. Elena's sudden jab of disrespect was about to call in a whole tropical storm, because Care wasn't scared of making her look bad in front of the Salvatores.

"God," she started in a falsely sweet tone that would sound genuine if you didn't know her well, "I don't know how you're ever gonna learn the routines."

I noticed that Bonnie hadn't said anything to defend Elena, but I guess that in this timeline, Bons understood that her bestie had invoked this mess with her other friend.

Not to mention, Bonnie also had to pick up the slack during camp, and I knew that she'd already scolded Elena about it. But, that didn't excuse her lack of apology to Care Bear.

Said blonde looked up in mock thought, "I guess we could put you in the back."

I could see the hidden smirk on Damon's lips, and the frown on Stefan's.

"You don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon adds, and I see from the sparkle in his eyes that he enjoyed watching the turmoil in this group.

I decide to interject before Caroline can say something she'll regret.

"Well, she used to be a party animal. But you know, things change."

Elena glares hard at me, and I can't help but wonder why she's so pissy at me today. Was it cause I made her take an observation day?

Actually, I can see how what I said could come off, but it was unintentional.

"My _parents _died, Alessia," she says in a deadly tone.

I sip my coffee for a moment, watching everyone's reactions at how obvious her dislike for me was.

"Never said they didn't, Elena. I was referring to your personality," I retort in a blasé tone, clearly already bored of talking to her.

"I know what it's like to lose both your parents," Damon interjects, and I see the doppelgänger's face completely switch over to a warm smile towards him.

If he was actually my boyfriend, I'd be questioning the _hell _out of that look.

_I wonder if Stefan is._

"In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die," Damon finishes.

Stefan's forest green eyes sharpen, "We don't need to get into that right now, Damon."

Is this how politicians feel at those fancy dinners? Everything being said at this table is feels like a veiled threat or a backhanded compliment.

Damon has his signature grin on his face as he sighs, "Ah. You know what? You're right, Stef, I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring _her _up."

I can tell by the matching looks of intrigue on every other girl's face that we all had the same thought.

_The drama is about to get **juicy**. _

_———_

Okay, I was wrong.

Things just got awful quiet again and I resumed debating how hard I'd have to smack my head against the table to knock myself out for thirty minutes, so that we could leave.

Damon had just gotten up to bother Elena in the kitchen, and Bonnie and Caroline were tidying up the dining room when the younger Salvatore took a seat across from me.

"Hello, Alessia," he starts. His voice was soothing, as if trying to placate me before I was even upset.

"Hey, Stefan," I reply quietly, "I'd ask how you're doing, but judging by the wrinkles on your forehead— I can guess what your answer will be."

"Would you mind telling me what the _hell _you're doing with Damon? I warned you. He's _dangerous._"

I frown slightly at his bossy tone, "And I told _you, _I'll do as I see fit."

He scoots closer to me, grabbing my hand earnestly.

"_Please_, Alessia," Stefan's beautiful forest green eyes pleading and his jaw tight, "Is he blackmailing you? I just want to help."

I slowly pull my hand back from his strong grip, ignoring the butterflies that his touch illicited, "Stefan, I'm _fine._ Damon's not as bad as you think he is."

_Yes, he is. _

"Then, why are you wearing that turtleneck?" The broody vampire asks, thinking he's caught me in a lie.

I pretend to grab at my neck nervously, touching a bite mark that doesn't exist.

"It doesn't matter, Stefan. My business with your brother has _nothing _to do with you. Do your weird happily ever after with Elena and quit trying to stick your nose in my business."

The sudden flint of steely determination in his eyes is _exactly _the reaction I was trying to illicit. I feel a dip in the couch on the other side of me, and my eyes are treated to the beauty that is Damon Salvatore.

"Well, isn't _this_ a fun little therapy session. Anything specific you needed to ask my girlfriend, Stefan?"

His blue eyes are cold and cunning, and I feel _very _uncomfortable sitting in between their stare down.

_This is **exactly** where I didn't want to be during this shitshow. _

_But now, here I am with a front row seat to the 'big dick' __contest._

"You need to stop this, Damon," Stefan says resolutely, but I know there's no actual bite to it.

I wonder, if I had _actually_ been in danger like Care was as a defenseless human, would he have let me be abused like he had let her?

_Probably. _

Stefan didn't have the strongest of _anything_ when it came to his brother, constantly flip-flopping between making excuses for his brother's behavior and trying to kill him for it.

His will was weaker— and because of his bunny bloodshed— he was weaker physically, as well.

My point is: Stefan didn't _actually_ ever hold Damon accountable for anything, ever. I had always guessed it was because deep down, Stefan still loved his older brother and didn't want to hurt him.. _badly. _

At least not yet, anyway.

Damon turns to me, before smiling, "Hey, sweetie, mind helping out the girls in the kitchen?"

_Gladly! _

I stand up to leave and gracefully exit the living room as quickly as possible with my dishes. As fun as it was to see them fight sometimes, I had no desire to keep the momentum going.

———

It was officially Saturday, and the first big celebration of the season, so I was _pumped. _

Yeah, at first I had been a cheerleader so I could keep a close eye on my group of friends— but, I had quickly grown to love the energy that came with it.

A person's life force practically vibrates when they're excited, and a large crowd of them made nature sing.

As a witch, that kind of momentous energy was quickly addicting and I grew very attached to my sport. The pompoms, the cute outfits, the general adoration that came with being co captain, really, it was so much fun that it made _football_ not boring for me.

I excitedly wiggled into my cheer uniform, grabbing my white sneakers off my blanket.

"Bonnie!" I called out into the hallway, and I heard a faint 'Yeah?' from the bathroom, "Have you seen my red glitter scrunchie?!"

There was a pause, and I flipped open my backpack, dumping the contents out to see if it was in there instead.

"Uh, yeah, I was gonna just borrow it for today!" She yells back, and I puff my cheeks in annoyance.

"_Seriously_, Bons?!"

"Well— yeah! Don't you have that red streamer one, anyway?!"

I rolled my eyes before grabbing the red streamer scrunchie from the top of my dresser. Looking at the collateral damage the search has done to my room, I stifle a sigh before flopping in my bean bag chair and pulling on my white socks.

_Fine. __I'll borrow her grey heels for my presentation on Monday, and we'll be even._

I hear Bons' feet dash down the stairs as she calls up, "Lessy! Hurry the hell up, or we're gonna be late!"

Finishing the knot I had been tying on my right sneaker, I hop up, "Bons, you're running late, too! _I'm_ not the only reason why we're late!!"

My feet fly down the stairs in a flurry, and I kiss Grams on the cheek as I sprint out to my sister— who had apparently already walked out the door.

"Bye, Grams, don't burn the house down!"

And with that, I slide into the passenger seat seconds before Bons tears out of the driveway like a bat out of hell. I quickly buckle my seatbelt, but it doesn't seem to help me much because my forehead smacks against the window as she makes a sharp turn.

"_Goddammit, _Bons!"

"Sorry, Lessy," is all she manages to gasp out, and when we look at each other, we just burst out laughing.

_This is what I'm fighting for._

_———_

When me and Bons finally get to the bonfire area, there's a western standoff going on in front of the pyre.

Caroline is glaring _fiercely_ at an out-of-uniform Elena, and Elena is looking at Caroline with slight nervousness.

Bonnie gasps when she realizes that Elena has _once again_ not mentioned to anyone that she wasn't participating until the last minute. I wouldn't be surprised if Caroline attacked her.

"You have _got _to be kidding me, Elena!" Bonnie sighs, disappointedly as we walk up to the warring two.

I roll my eyes, not only not surprised because I saw this happen before, but because it was Elena fucking Gilbert, breaker of _many _promises.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie— but, cheerleading doesn't make me happy anymore. If you're really my friend, you'll understand that I had to do this for me."

_And only apologizing to Bonnie. Wow._

Bonnie is starting to look frustrated as she furrows her thin brows, "It's not _about _you quitting, Elena. It's that you decided to wait till last minute to tell anyone!"

"_Again," _I added. Surprising no one, I'm the only one who gets a glare.

"Whatever," is all Caroline says, brushing it off and placing her professional smile on Elena, "It was a pleasure having you on the team, and I hope you're successful in all your other endeavors. Like trying to get your boyfriend to kiss you."

_**GODDAMN.**_

With that, the blonde tornado whirls away, and I promptly turn to join her, not really wanting to see Bonnie tear Elena a new one.

Instead, we walk over to the rest of the squad and announce Elena's retirement from cheer before getting them started on passing out fliers and generally sending them off to different areas in threes so they can get the crowd hyped up.

By the time night falls, we've gotten the entire school worked up into a frenzy.

_Damn, we're **good**. _

There's drinking, tailgates are down, the enemy team's dummy is on fire, and life is great. We had the girls pass out cheap pompoms from the local party store, along with whistles, and party poppers, so by the time Mr. Tanner got the football team lined up and was preparing to do his speech, he had a high school on _fire _for their losing-streak team.

_Oh yeah, that reminds me. Mr. Tanner is going to die. _

Bonnie had come to me this morning talking about the numbers she saw, and I told her that I had hoped that it meant that those number football players would win us the upcoming game. She didn't look like she _really_ bought it, but she had believed me.

There was nothing enjoyable about lying to her about that, but it had to be done. Mr. Tanner had to get gone one way or another so that Alaric could come, and if the kindest way to let the prick go was by giving him a painless death, then alright.

_Bonnie is gonna be **mad **when she finds out that Damon did that, though._

Bons was definitely not a fan of Mr. Tanner, but that didn't mean she wanted to see him dead. I didn't really want to know how she'd react if she found out about this, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

_Actually... I could avoid it altogether if no one can find the body. _

I smiled.

_**There's** the ticket._

Mr. Tanner proceeded to walk onto the podium, and me and the girls set out to maintain the hype, twirling our pompoms, doing high kicks, the occasional jumping splits. The boys were all looking fine as _hell _in their jerseys, especially one: Stefan Salvatore. I hadn't noticed just how _broad_ his shoulders were until I saw him wearing that, and I spiritually salivated.

_Ooooooh **boy**, do I love a pretty man in uniform. _

"Quiet down, quiet down," Mr. T started saying into the mic, to little effect. He tried again, and slowly the crowd descended into a loud murmur instead of just shouting.

"Wait. Now let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into _our _town and roll right over us!" Cue the booing that our girls started, "But that is about to change!" Cue the cheering.

"We've got some great new talent," one could say, _supernaturally _good, "starting tonight in the offensive line, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a _long _time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like _these_." I chuckle for a second at him calling Stefan a kid, when I catch a glimpse of the darkening fury on Tyler's face.

_Oh, shit._

_"_LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR STEFAN SALVATORE!"

I cheer, but I don't look away from Tyler, seeing his shoulders move from his heavy breathing from all the way over here was _not _a good sign. I don't listen to the rest of whatever the hell Tanner is spewing, I just tap Bonnie and Care on the shoulder to let them know I'm leaving and start following after my angry werewolf friend.

I try dipping through the crowd as quickly as possible, seeing Tyler moving towards Jeremy with purpose as Vicki tries to stop him. Tyler says something, gets hit, then swings and socks Jeremy right in the face before diving for more. _Well, that can't help his already busted looking nose._

I run for Tyler as a crowd starts forming and tackle him off of Jeremy. He starts thrashing underneath me, trying to get back to rocking Gilbert's shit, before he realizes it's me.

"Alessia?" He whispers, wide eyed.

Suddenly, his eyes frantically look behind me, absolute terror in his puppy brown eyes.

"_Alessia, **move!!"** _He snaps, and I turn to see Jeremy about to slash me with a broken bottle.

_OH, SHIT._

Jeremy's hand is suddenly stopped by a larger one, Stefan grabbing the glass.

It shatters, and he shoves Jeremy away from anything sharp and pointy for the time being. Tyler is suddenly helping me up, pulling down my cheer skirt that had ridden up after tackling him, but I can't look away from Stefan. He had still gotten his hand cut, and Elena was still freaking out about it, but his soulful green eyes were on _me. _Filled with worry, frustration, and anger. I look down and see that he's looking at my banged up knees.

I'm guessing that the druggies have been throwing their bottles around, because I feel tiny shards of glass sticking out of my skin painfully.

Veins start to appear under Stefan's eyes, so I quickly whisper a spell to cut off his sense of smell momentarily.

He quickly snaps himself out of it, giving me a quick nod of reassurance before turning back to Doppelena who was trying to look at his hand. When she opened it to reveal no cut, she was stunned.

_Well. That got **real** intense, **real** quickly._

_———_

So, I had been taken out of commission for the first game of the season after having glass decorate the inside of my knees.

Needless to say, I'm more than a little pissed off about it.

"Stupid fucking Gilbert," I mutter as Bonnie uses a pair of tweezers to dig out the remaining glass.

She laughs, "You don't blame Tyler?"

"Oh," I start ranting angrily, "Tyler's getting an ass-kicking from me at a later date. He _knows_ how much I love these things, and he's probably expecting my foot up his ass any second now."

Bons smiles before splashing some antiseptic on my knees, making me wince, and she quickly puts two large band aids over the numerous cuts.

"I'll pull the rest of the tiny bits once we get home, but that'll do to just sit on the bench."

I can't help but roll my eyes at that. I _hate _watching football, and I'm not looking forward to just standing there during halftime while the girls do the routine me and Care made over the summer. I was excited for that, _dammit_.

Fuck the Gilberts.

_Oh wait, there might not be a game when they can't find Mr. Tanner._

———

I proceeded to walk over towards the boys' locker room after telling Care and Bons that I had left my bag in the girls' locker room, which wasn't technically lying. I _had _left it just in case I actually needed an alibi.

As I walked over, I saw Stefan and Matt having a heart to heart.

_Aw, two boyish guys having a heartfelt conversation is actually really adorable._

I keep thinking that as I see Damon move over to the darkened shadows along the side of the building. Quickly positioning myself behind a van and proceeding to watch the Salvatores interact, I waited eagerly to see this particular scene in real life.

I don't know what it is about the lighting, but it's damn near ethereal on them.

The sage and vervain spelled sack made it to where they didn't notice my presence, and I was once again grateful that I was reborn supernatural in this world. Seriously, things could've gone to absolute _shit _if I was just human and trying to change everything.

In fact, I'd probably become a vampire as quickly as possible if that had been the case.

Besides the point. As Matt left, Damon clapped his hands at the sweet show of brotherhood before revealing himself from under the cover of darkness.

_Man, these Salvatores are pretty in the moonlight._

_Alright, **any **light. _

Que the infamous 'Damon the Dick' smirk as said vampire struts in front of his brother cockily.

"Isn't that nice? Stefan joins a team, makes a friend. It's all _so _'rah, rah, go team, yeah!'"

I don't think I've really seen Stefan roll his pretty forest green eyes, but he does at Damon's goading, "Not tonight. I'm done with you."

_**Ha!** You wish!_

Damon does the vampire speed thing, and appears in front of his brother.

_Very spooky. _

Damon's blue mischievous gaze turns a little flinty before he says, "Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess, vervain in the necklace? I admit, I was a _bit _surprised. It's been a while since anyone's been able to resist my compulsion. Well— aside from my little witch girlfriend."

Stefan nods slightly, but I think he's just unsure what to say in response to that, starting to look more than a little annoyed.

"Where'd you get it?"

_From your 'however many greats' nephew._

"Does it matter?" Is all Stefan asks, and even I know that it's the wrong answer as Damon's countenance gets colder.

Stefan turns to leave— but, Damon is used to having the last word in _this_ brother relationship, and he intends to in this circumstance as well.

"Guess I could seduce her the old-fashioned way. _Or..._ I could just... _**eat**_ her," he says nonchalantly, but the threat in his tone is _very _present. Stefan pauses, slowly turning back to face his brother.

"No," he says in a way that sounds nearly cocky, "You're not gonna _hurt _her, Damon."

_"No?"_

_Telling Damon Salvatore what he will and won't do is **literally **the cause of the majority of the problems that are coming down the road._

Stefan steps closer to his brother, speaking in a low, patronizing voice, "No. Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that _feels _for her."

_Ew._

I can see the moment that the elder Salvatore's surprise morphs into rage, but Stefan continues boldly.

"I was worried that you had no humanity left inside you. That you may have actually _become_ the monster that you _pretend_ to be."

_Goddammit, Stefan— this is gonna be almost entirely your fault. _

"Who's pretending?" Damon retorts in a quiet, startlingly-_cold_ tone.

"Then kill me."

_Once again, very bold of you, Stefan. _

_You're lucky that **deep** down, Damon still loves you despite everything, or you **would **be dead._

"Well, I'm- I'm tempted," Damon starts, slowly returning to his 'Damon the Dick' mode— and even I can tell that he's about to lose it.

Why does Stefan keep pushing it?

"No, you're not," Stefan refutes, and I'm unsure whether or not his tone sounds sincere, per say.

"You've had lifetimes to do it— and yet, here I am. I'm _still _alive. And, there you are. You're still haunting me, after _one-hundred and forty-five years._Katherine is dead."

I see Damon swallow reflexively, and clench his fists.

_I_ _**wish**_ _Katherine_ _was_ _dead_, _Stefan_.

"And, you _hate_ me, because you _loved_ her, and you _torture_ me because you _still_ do. And _that,_ my brother, is your humanity."

He was 100% right on the money, but he shouldn't have said anything when Damon was like this. Altogether, terrible idea with poor execution: Solid D plus.

"Salvatore!" Mr. Tanner calls out.

_Terrible_ _timing_, _douche_ _canoe_.

"What the hell? We've got a game to play!" The history teacher shouts.

I see the smirk on Damon's face, and quickly mutter, "_Sine_ _dolore_ _est_," before lighting the potion bottle in my hands with a match.

The smoke silently wraps around Mr. Tanner, and I smile in victory. I had made that spell all on my own, and I'm glad that nature had approved of my intentions, allowing it to pass.

"If that's my humanity," Damon starts threateningly, "Then what's _this_?"

He runs and tackles Mr. Tanner, causing the older guy to shout in surprise rather than in pain, all thanks to me.

Damon's teeth tear into his neck in a gruesome display as Stefan yells, "No!"

And with that, Mr. Tanner painlessly slips into death.

_A_ _lame_ _end_ _for a lame guy._

His fresh corpse hits the pavement, and I torch the sage and vervain sack, alerting the brothers to my presence as it burns instantly.

I pop out from behind the van and glance at Mr. Tanner's body, slightly sad that he had to die that way, but not enough to let it show as I glance at the two brothers with an arched brow.

My eyes slightly widen as I take in Damon's appearance though.

His shoulders are heaving heavily, a wild grin on his now bloody lips. His beautiful blue eyes are caked in veins, and he looks positively _feral_ in the _prettiest_ of ways. The older Salvatore looks back at me hungrily, intensely taking in my reaction and probably searching for some sort of judgment on my face.

The elder Salvatore doesn't find it, and instead just _stares_ at me.

I glance over at Stefan, and his forest green eyes are wide and apologetic.

For what? I'm not sure.

He blinks at me, as if looking to make sure _I'm_ alright. As if I was the one who was attacked, and not our history teacher/football coach.

_Still a weird combo. _

The looks I'm getting from both brothers are enough to get my heart pumping for completely nonbusiness-related reasons before I brush it off with a mocking glare at both of them.

"Really, guys? At the football game? You guys are a bit too old to be _this_ sloppy," I ask, dusting my hands off before turning to Mr. Tanner with my hand outstretched.

"_Igneo_ _morte_."

Instantly, his corpse burns to nothing but ash, and I quickly grab my lavender thyme bundle to spell away the smell of burning hair.

Burning bodies smell _disgusting_.

Both brothers are once again looking at me like _I'm_ the crazy person here, and I stroll up to Damon, grabbing some napkins from my purse that I had from my lunch at Subway, and offering him them.

The older brother blinks at me owlishly.

_"What?_ You look a mess. You're my ride home, and I'd like to be able to eat something after this," I say, raising a brow at him, and he slowly takes them, gauging if I was being genuine or not.

_Oh, I mean it. _

_You owe me a new milkshake. _

He starts wiping off his face and I whip out my matchbox, lighting the herb bundle and setting it on the black mark that _was_ Mr. Tanner's body.

_Rest In Peace, Mr. Tanner. Sorry it had to go that way. _

I then stand up, glaring at both of the brothers.

"Look, I personally don't care if you guys fight, or whatever, and generally I don't care who dies, _however_," I pause, making sure I'm giving both men ample eye contact to drive home my point, "I'm seen with both of you on a regular basis. If the Council starts finding bodies in town, they're gonna be looking at the two new guys, and I might be found guilty by association. _Especially_ since they already think my grandma is a witch. You're both very pretty_— _but, I'm not getting burned at the stake for you."

Damon laughs in disbelief, shaking his head as he crumples up the now bloody napkins. I'm pretty sure I hear him mutter 'wacky witch' but decide to ignore it as he turns his attention back to Stefan.

"Any_one_, any _time_, any _place_, Stefan. Remember that," Then, he turns back towards me with a wry grin, "I'll be in the car when you're done, Aly Cat."

I nod, and Damon's suddenly gone.

Stefan rushes up to me, grabbing my shoulders gently and looking me over.

I smile at how kind he's being— but it's unnecessary. I had mentally prepared myself for the amount of death that was coming, and I'd seen a lot of deaths _vividly _in my memories.

It definitely bothered me at first, but once you see something that often, you get a bit numb to it.

"I'm so sorry that you had to see that, Alessia," he whispers genuinely, his large hands suddenly cupping my face and looking into my eyes with that weird, '_soul searching' _stare.

All I feel is my heart beat jump at the sudden closeness, and I softly cover Stefan's hands with my own, slowly pulling them off of my burning cheeks.

"Stefan, I'm _fine_," I whisper back, and he looks like he doesn't believe me at first, before reluctantly taking my word for it.

He doesn't move away, however.

"You scared the shitout of me. Damon is unhinged, and he could have seriously hurt you," he mutters harshly, "He still _can, _Alessia."

The way he growls out my name sends shivers up my spine, but I once again grow irritated with Stefan's obsession with telling me what to do.

"You're not the boss of me, Stefan. I could kick your ass if I felt like it; I can definitely handle Damon. I'm not weak_._"

_I will __**not**__ be treated like Doppelena. I'm not weak, and I don't need you to save me._

He audibly exhales through his nose, clearly getting frustrated, "You're still human. Just because you're a 'big bad' Bennett witch doesn't mean you're invincible."

I can feel myself getting angry in turn, and decide to turn to my usual response to anger: _sarcasm. _

"Oh, _thank you, _Stefan. Sometimes I forget."

"I didn't mean it like that, Alessia, and you know that."

I roll my eyes, turning away, "Whatever, Stefan. If I wanted someone to parent me, I'd call my absentee father— _not_ some weak ass vegetarian vampire."

Suddenly, I'm yanked back and spun by my wrist, colliding roughly into Stefan's broad chest. Both of us are breathing hard, but I refuse to be shaken up, just glaring back at him aaa fiercely as he is at me.

His eyes are bright, angry, and _so_ very deep.

Stefan's breathing is heavy, and his minty breath brushed across my face.

_Oh god, he smells like pine_.

His gaze looks across my face wildly, searching for something, but I don't know what. All I know is that it's making my heart thump wildly in either fear or anticipation. His large hands slide up to my shoulders softly, and I become aware of a _completely _different kind of tension in the air.

And then, I'm snapped out of it by hearing Elena's voice in the distance.

"Stefan? Where are you? Everyone's looking for you!"

I immediately leap out of his large arms and see that he seems as shocked as I do.

_What the hell had just happened? _

Elena appears from around the corner, and as soon as she sees me by Stefan she starts walking with purpose towards us. I take a soft step back, and I can't look away from Stefan's gaze. He seems to have a similar problem until Elena tugs on his jersey.

"Stefan? Are you okay? Why the _hell _are you out here when the game's about to start?" She asks, then shooting a meaningful glare my way.

"You know that better than anyone, Alessia, why are you distracting him?"

_Ugh, ew. Nope, not dealing with this right now._

_"_Bye, Stefan," I quickly say with a turn of my heel, trying to calm my racing heart before I get to Damon's car.

_I think I'll just leave now, instead._

Little did I know, that green eyes had followed my every step as I walked away.

———

Damon wouldn't stop to get me food, so I had been driven directly home after we left the game.

He didn't say anything, just occasionally glancing my way nonchalantly— but, I could see the gears turning in his head. I don't know what Damon was thinking about though, as he promptly dropped me off with a 'see ya' and left.

Promptly decided to forget whatever the hell happened between me and Stefan tonight.

We were both just mad— he was shocked that Tanner died— really, it was no biggie. And with that, I went inside, took the remaining glass out of my fucking _kneecaps_, and got my ass to bed.

———

_Tap._

_Tap. Tap._

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

I blinked, my eyes still blurry from just waking up, when I hear another tap at my window. I turn over in my burrito of blankets, my hair covering a good portion of my face.

_Fuck my life, the bonnet fell off. Now, my hair's gonna be all frizzy for the Founder's party._

I look towards my window, and see the lovely Damon perched on my windowsill in a black t-shirt and jeans. He winks at me and I groan loudly.

Considering it was Sunday, and I didn't hear any 60s music playing downstairs, I guessed that Grams must've gone to that book club she's been raving about lately. I groggily stand up, walking towards the window, when I trip on my backpack that I had left on the floor last night and faceplant right onto my nice shag rug.

Damon busts out laughing, so loud I can hear him through the glass. I glare up at him, wide awake _now, _and walk over to open the window. He's still laughing heartily, and I roll my eyes before using my magic to shove him off my windowsill.

He falls back as I turn around to pick a dress for tonight, and when I glance back, he's back on it with a playful glare.

"That wasn't very nice, Aly Cat."

"I'm not very nice, D," is my quick retort as I flip through the first few dresses in my rack.

_Oof, this is harder than I thought. _

I turn back to Damon holding the red and the purple one.

"I'll let you pick. Which one of these?"

He raises a dark brow before running his intense gaze over the two dresses. The red one was longer, like to my feet, and had a halter neckline along with a gold belt around the center. The purple one went just above my knees and had black scalloped lace from the waist down with a sweetheart neckline.

He sighs, "Don't you have one in-between those two styles?"

"If I did, I would've picked it."

Damon bats his hand like he's shooing a fly, gesturing for me to move away from the closet so that he can see the contents therein. After scanning for a few seconds, his eyes narrow towards the back before Damon points his finger at one in the closet.

"That green one towards the back. Let me see that one."

I pull it out, and to be honest I had totally forgotten about this dress.

I had worn it once for a date that had gone sour and promptly shoved it to the back of my closet. It was an emerald long sleeved cold shoulder dress that clung to my waist and hips tightly and went down to just above my knees. It was a dress that had the elegance of a grown woman, and if I'm being honest, it was perfect for the occasion. Dressy, but not _too _dressy.

"Alright, Damon. I'll admit you're right— this _one_ time."

He smirks at that, crossing his arms, "You're welcome, Glinda. And thanks for getting with the program quickly."

I warmly smile back at him, before turning to go take a shower, "You're welcome, Count Chocula. I'll be ready in like 30 minutes."

———

Okay, so it was more like 45 minutes, and I really don't have a defense this time.

I just really enjoyed my hot shower today, and I wanted to try and fix my potential bad hair day before it got messy. I decided to just straighten it again, but this time I took a curling iron to it to make it look all cute and super model-y.

I walk back into my bedroom, and Damon has made himself cozy on my windowsill, but he's changed into a suit.

_The asshole is lucky my window is basically covered by a tree. _

He doesn't open his blue eyes as he comments, "You take literally _forever _to get ready. And I would know— I'm immortal."

I bend down into my closet, grabbing the gold pumps I got for my 15th birthday and sliding them on.

"Well, I look outstanding, so I make up for the time I put in."

He blearily opens one pretty blue eye, then opens both of them upon seeing me in all my green goddess glory as I put on a thick gold choker.

He sighs before rolling his eyes, "You're lucky you look stunning. I've _eaten_ people for less."

Cue _my _eye roll, "Trust me, I'm aware. Saw it last night— all the bloody napkins and everything—remember?"

Damon nods before standing up to a crouch, "I'll meet you by the front door, so hurry that perky ass up, would ya? We're gonna be late, _again._"

I strut out of the room as I hear him land in my front yard, and promptly rush down to meet him after grabbing my clutch. Damon gives me a mischievous grin as I open the door, extending his arm out to me.

"Let's get this over with," I say as I link arms with him.

"What? Don't like being my date?" He asks with a quirk of his brow.

"I'm fine with that, since you're cute, but I _really _fucking _hate _the Lockwoods."

———

We walk into the party, and I can _feel _the envy of the married women of Mystic Falls.

Hell, even Mrs. Lockwood was glaring a hole into my head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Elena and Stefan walk up and shake hands with the Mayor. Said Salvatore must've felt my gaze, because those pretty green eyes locked on me in seconds.

I don't know what my face looked like, but I saw his perfect jaw tighten as Damon put his arm around my waist and started guiding us towards the couple as they moved towards the historical artifacts.

Elena is wearing a gold-ish, red-ish dress— a veritable hodge podge— and she looks very pretty. Her and Stefan make a pretty picture, and I wonder if Damon and I do, too.

I hear her ask as we approach, "... And.. _Stefan Salvatore?"_

Damon, who's most likely heard the entire convo since we came in gleefully interrupts, "The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually."

A small grin graces my cheeks as I listen to his taunting tone.

_Never let it be said that Damon Salvatore doesn't know how to entertain. _

Stefan must not feel the same way, because his gaze hardens.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past."

Elena looks minutely irritated before her smile reappears, "It's not boring, Stefan. I'd _love _to hear more about your family."

Damon's typical grin becomes more feral, and I can feel it in my gut.

_I'm gonna need a drink. _

_———_

**_A/n: Thanks for all the love and comments! Hope you enjoyed!_**

**_———_**


	9. Nine

**Discombobulated: **_def. _emotionally confused or uncertain 

_———_

**Chapter 9: I Need All The Drinks.**

**———**

Damon won't quit squeezing my hip trying to hint at something— and honestly, my hip is getting bruised because I have _no_ idea what the _hell_ it is he's trying to hint at.

I know that somehow Caroline got Damon and Stefan separated so that the elder could talk to the doppelgänger, but I didn't know _how_. Um, maybe, he went to grab drinks with her?

_Doesn't sound right. _

I kept trying to think about it as he squeezed my hip once more and that seems to do the trick.

_Oh my god. I'm an idiot— **duh,** dancing. _

I blink up awful prettily at Damon, sweetly asking, "Damon, could you please dance with me?"

He blinks back a small, surprised expression. Damon had clearly thought the situation was hopeless, too.

Damon smirks before shaking his beautiful, dark head softly. "No, sweetheart. I'm not feeling too good tonight, Alessia."

I put on my most downcast expression, eyebrows furrowed, eyes big and innocent with a slight pout on my red lips. Stefan suddenly cuts in, "Well, if he won't— then, I can, Alessia."

_Whoa. That was easy._

I blink a bit before smiling warmly at him, even though I can definitely feel Elena's heated glare melting the side of my frontal lobe.

He steps forward offering his arm, and I gently tuck my arm into his, nodding to Damon as we leave.

Stefan takes us over to the dance floor, promptly tucking me into a firm waltz position. The distance between us is professional, but the hand grasping mine is gentle and sweet. The song is soft in the background, and the glow from the candles and hanging lights is _awful_ romantic.

Not to mention, the younger Salvatore looks like one of the most beautiful men in the world in his suit. Really. It was hard to remember that he had a girlfriend.

So, that was the only thought I held on to.

I might not like Elena, but I've never gone purposefully out of my way to cause her pain— and hitting on Stefan would _definitely _do that.

...

_But, **looking** couldn't hurt. _

"So," I start awkwardly, very vividly remembering that weird moment last night, "Wonderful weather tonight, huh?"

He chuckles, shaking his head as he moves us around the dance floor, "Really, Alessia? That's the best you've got?"

I puff my cheeks slightly in annoyance, "You got something better?"

I can feel his smirk as his arm lifts to guide me through a spin, pulling me ever so slightly closer to him.

"Well, yeah. I guess I'll start with why you were so calm about Mr. Tanner?"

I smile mischievously, I have no intention of telling him _anything _about that, "Wonderful question. The simple answer is that God picks favorites, and so do I."

His thick brow arches, and his eyes glitter with something more akin to curiosity rather than the disgust or disappointment I had anticipated from my answer.

"And, I'd be right to guess that Elena is _not_ that?"

That makes me roll my eyes in annoyance, "I figured you'd be all over that since she's your girlfriend. Can't protect her on your own, Salvatore?"

He smirks, but his shoulders stiffen under my hand, "Nothing like that. Just curious as to why you dislike her so much."

I raise an eyebrow at him, trying to change pace with him as the second song starts up.

"You've been around long enough to take a guess why. Me and Elena are _very_ different people."

"Yes," Stefan starts nonchalantly, "But, you don't seem like the type of person to actively dislikesomeone on a regular basis. So, why her?"

I blinked, a bit stunned that he had noticed that about me from our limited interactions, "Look, Stefan. I'm not trying to shit talk Elena. Everybody's got flaws. Hell, I do, too. Her's just _really_ annoy me."

He doesn't let up, "Like?"

I roll my eyes.

Fine, if he wanted the dirt on Elena, I'd give it to him. He was too twitterpated to notice them when he was stalking her in the first timeline, I _sincerely _doubt that my opinion of her will change much.

"Well, if you're _really _curious— sure. I don't like Elena because I don't like how she behaves and how she treats others. Elena Gilbert can be very sweet, but she's been treated like a perfect person since the day I met her.

"Her parents favored her over Jeremy, Caroline's parents always pressured her to be more like Elena, and all the boys have always liked her. Because of this, she's never had to interact with hardship until her parents passed away, and that's made her somewhat entitled."

I pause, gauging his reaction.

He doesn't look too angry, more like pensive.

"You look like there's more," he mutters into my ear after spinning me once again, causing my cheeks to heat up at his newfound closeness.

"There is— but, you'll notice it pretty soon. Not that they'll irritate you, too. Just saying you might see things from my perspective."

His thick brows furrow deeply, and my spiritual self chuckles at the future reference.

The song ends, and we gently separate, him gesturing to a waiter for two flutes of champagne. The man complies, allowing Stefan to grab one and hand it to me, and I gratefully take it and down half of it.

_Being this close to hot vampires is becoming bad for my heart._

"Rough night?" He chuckles, and I shrug.

"Rough _week_, Stefan. Any wild guesses as to why that is?" I ask sarcastically, and he shrugs back at me with a teasing smile before tucking my arm back into his and guiding us out of the room.

"Be _careful, _Alessia," he whispers quietly, glancing at me from the corner of his eye whilst also giving me an excellent view of his profile.

"And just so you know, I haven't forgotten what I said I'd do if you decide to continually put yourself in danger."

My eyes widen slightly at that as we come back to Damon and Elena, the latter appearing _very _perturbed.

I start feeling rather unnecessary as I stand there, letting them all have their small talk at our reunion.

_Yeah, I'm bored. I'm gonna go see Bonnie._

I lean up and kiss Damon on the cheek, leaning into his ear as Stefan and Elena look on, "I'm gonna go see my sister. Grab me if you need me."

Fake-smiling at the other couple, I glance at Elena's suspicious look towards Stefan. Her curiosity was going to get real annoying soon, and so would her entitled attitude; so I promptly wave bye to both and exited the scene towards the house.

To be completely honest, I hadn't had much quality time with Bonnie, and it was starting to bother me.

She was one of the other people besides Caroline who knew _most _of what was going on, and I needed an outlet. Not to mention, we hadn't had a lesson in almost two days, and I was starting to feel like I was slacking off on my sister's safety.

———

I find her in one of the _many_ dining rooms in this fucking mansion, sipping on champagne while watching Mrs. Lockwood interact with a waiter. She glances at me as I pull up to her side, and we both listen in on Mrs. Lockwood's convo.

"_Why aren't they lit?_" She whisper-asks the young man vehemently, and I suppress an eye roll at her dramatics.

Mrs. Lockwood was a _real _piece of work, and the definition of a politician's wife.

Overbearing, collected, and vindictive, me and her had a mutual dislike for the other _especially _since I was aware of how she and her husband treated Tyler.

"There's matches in the kitchen."

I turn to Bonnie only to find she's already giving the older woman a dirty look, and I can tell she doesn't notice her magic stirring to rise to her emotions. She sets her olive gaze on me, clearly ticked off.

"What a _bitch._"

I laugh, and nod as we both walk further into the unlit room.

My eyebrow raises as an idea comes to me.

You see, not many people know that while Bons' was a loyal friend and would do _anything _in the name of friendship, there was one other thing that was an even more powerful motivator.

Bonnie Bennett was a _very _competitive young lady.

Our childhood was littered with contests to see who was the best singer, who's Halloween costume was the best, who could walk best in platform heels, etc. Basically, it's a running gag from our youth, that I _knew _would be the best way to teach Bonnie how to harness her powers quickly.

Willpower and intention were the two most powerful things at a witch's disposal when it came to using their magic, Bonnie just hadn't tapped into that yet.

"Bons, I'll bet you a steak at the Grill you can't light all these candles at once," I say nonchalantly, leaning down on the finely decorated table.

Her lips quirk in a grin at the challenge, but I can see the self doubt in her olive eyes. "I could totally do it, Lessy," she says pridefully, but not in a convincing way.

"Alright, the floor is _all _yours," my hand gestures to the table in a sweeping motion.

Her olive eyes suddenly get focused, and she clenches her fists. I see her pupils dilate as the magic in the room fluctuates, but after a few moments she sighs angrily.

"I can't _focus _with all this noise!" Bons spouts off haphazardly, clearly getting frustrated that it wasn't working automatically.

It was close, though, she just needed a _push. _

"It's all intention, Bons. Focus on nature and it'll bend to your will. Now, close your eyes," she closes them, "I want you to think of the energy at the football game. Think of that large bonfire and how it danced along with everyone who was partying there."

Her brow furrows as her magic calms down, instead of repeatedly tapping on the wicks of the candles, it slowly washes over the candles in the room like a wave. They all light up, and I can't stop the smile on my face.

_God, my sister is awesome._

It takes a hot shit witch to be able to move from not doing magic at all, to doing migraine and fire spells, at will, without any assistance from herbs and balms, in a few _days. _

Bonnie was going to be _much _stronger in this timeline at this rate, especially since she was going to be having two mentors instead of just me _very_ soon.

She opens her large eyes, blinking surprisedly at all of the lit candles, before turning to me with a bright smile, and I can see her getting emotional at her success. I open up my arms, and she rushes me with a hug, squeezing me tightly.

"This is _incredible, _Lessy," she mutters into my hair, and I squeeze her tight before pulling away slightly, my hands still on her shoulders.

I know _exactly _what she means, the connection to nature could be nearly overwhelming.

"_We're _incredible, Bons," I say emphatically, "We are the newest generation of something _fantastic. _And— surprising _no one_— we're fucking _awesome_ at it!"

She laughs hard, pulling away fully from me and playfully hitting my shoulder, "You owe me steak, you realize that, right?"

I roll my eyes before throwing my arm around her shoulder and we walk out of the dining room, "Whatever, we can go to the Grill sometime this week."

"Damn straight. I'm getting grilled mushrooms and _everything._"

_Ugh, you're lucky that I love you._

_———_

I see Tiki leave the bathroom with a thick scarf around her neck, and pretty soon afterwards a freaked out Elena follows.

_Oh, boy. _I quickly shoot a text to Damon.

**Msg: **Uh.. D? You didn't happen to snack on Tiki, did you?

My phone buzzes with his response immediately after.

—

**From: **Eternal Stud

—

**Msg: **needed her to keep a look out while I grabbed something, y?

—

_Oof, yikes. _

I quickly let him know that an angry Elena might be on his tail, and he let's me know that she _had _seen him leave with Tiki to a back room.

_I'm so glad I'm not you right now. _

His inability to wait until after the party to eat was gonna get him locked in the cell in the boardinghouse's basement for a week.

_Goddammit, that means I have to go get him in a few days since Care isn't compelled. _

_Ughhh. _

I walk out to the balcony, fully prepared to watch the scene play out in front of me. A waiter passes by with more champagne, and I grab two, quickly downing the first one and setting it back on his tray before shooing him away.

_Oh god, are these people gonna make me an alcoholic like Grams? _

Shaking my head at the thought, I peer down at Damon who's further into the landscaping, seemingly getting increasingly more angry with Tiki for getting caught.

_Welp, if she dies— she dies._

He starts draining her, and I see Stefan sneak out from the shadows, some sort of dart in his hand.

Stefan stabs it _hard _into his brother's neck, and I watch Damon slowly fall unconscious next to a bleeding out Tiki. I can't tell whether he heals her or just compels her, but he does bend down over her momentarily before hefting Damon onto his shoulders and vampire speeding into the night.

_Dammit, she lives_, I think as Tiki hesitantly stands up, clearly shaking from the ordeal... and probably the loss of blood.

Elena comes out and starts to console her as the girl starts crying on her shoulder, and I turn to walk away.

_Looks like I'm riding back with Bonnie, since my date is otherwise occupied._

———

Caroline had ended up coming home with us as well, since she had gotten pretty drunk on champagne, and I was pretty happy with that since I hadn't really seen her all night.

She stayed with us almost all week, not wanting to go home to where her mom was. Fortunately, I had smuggled two bottles in my purse on our way out of the Founder's party, so we all just got stupid drunk on Thursday in Bonnie's room while watching the Exorcist.

Needless to say, terrible idea altogether, as we had been freaked out for the majority of the night until we drank ourselves to sleep.

———

When I woke up, I had a bit of a headache, and was face planted into Bonnie's beanbag chair still in my dress from last night.

I tried to blink the sleep from my eyes as I looked to see where two of my musketeers had landed. Bonnie was sprawled out on the carpet, empty bottle of champagne by her feet and with a bowl of popcorn balancing on her stomach. Caroline on the other hand was half-on, half-off the bed, the top part of her dress hanging off of one shoulder, hair a mess and drool on her cheek.

_We're adorable... _

I glance at the alarm clock and my eyes widen to comical proportions.

I quickly stand up woozily, grabbing two pillows by my feet and hurling them at the other two as I wobble forward.

"GUYS WE ARE _**SO** _LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

Bonnie shoots upward, scared at the sudden noise, and accidentally flings the popcorn bowl across the carpet. Caroline starts and falls off the side of the bed she had been precariously balanced on.

We all race towards the bathroom— albeit, not very gracefully— and all try to use the single sink at once.

"Pass me the deodorant!"

"Why don't you guys have _any_ makeup wipes??"

"Throw me the concealer!"

Miraculously, we look somewhat _not _hungover as we run out of the bathroom, Bons to her room, and Care and I to mine. We had worked out a system to where if something like this happens, Caroline only borrows _my _clothes. Last time she borrowed Bonnie's, she had spilled some ketchup on it and it _never _came out, so she's been banned from there for like the last three years.

We both tear out clothes from my closet and dresser, quickly dressing and dashing to my wall mirror. She grabs the spare comb from atop my dresser while I just say 'fuck it' and put my hair in a bun. It's frizzy, but it'll work. Caroline, of course, ends up looking perfect, and I roll my eyes in jealousy at her obscene good looks.

_I need to get less attractive friends, so I'm not so envious._

_Wait, that wasn't a good person thought._

We all three exit the rooms at the same time somehow, and thunder down the staircase, completely bypassing our Grams who was about to scold us. Bons grabs the keys, and we jet set out of there.

_If we drive straight there, we'll only be 15 minutes late to first period, and since it's a substitute, we'll be fine._

_———_

We three walk into school with three large iced coffees. Yeah, we decided to just skip first period altogether, but to be honest, that was probably for the best.

Caroline then glances at the two of us on either side of her before saying, "We need to stop and use the printer at the front office. I was totally supposed to print off more flyers for the Sexy Suds Car Wash this morning before class."

I groan at the thought of seeing Ms. Watson this early, but both us Bennetts nod our heads in acquiescence.

The old bat glares at us as soon as we walk in, as if she _knows _we're all hungover and is subsequently judging our underage drinking. After all the sheets are printed out, Care splits the large stack into three and hands me and Bonnie a section each.

"Alright, ladies," she says brightly with a smile, "Hangovers are for the weak. Time to bring out those smiles."

I give her my best fake smile as Bonnie rolls her eyes, laughing. We strut out into the main hallway, passing out the flyers to any student unfortunate enough to make eye contact with us. I turn to Caroline as I hand another out to a student, "Hey, Care, did you ever get the band to confirm whether they could help out?"

Her blonde brow furrows slightly as she smiles warmly at another student before answering, "Not the whole band, just the ones who can wear a bikini."

"Technically," Bonnie quips, "can't _anyone _wear a bikini?"

I think about it momentarily before bobbing my head in a so-so motion, "True, but— ya know, a lot of people don't want to." They both nod.

Caroline continues to strut forward, "I want 'in-your-face' sexy. I mean, it's a fundraiser, for god sake."

I laugh at her haughty tone, completely making way for the Caroline that takes care of this town's events. Seriously, the woman was a miracle worker. We all then spot Elena at the end of the hallway, glaring at me and Care.

Bons sighs, taking a step away from the trio.

"I'm gonna go check in on her; we haven't talked since the game."

Care waves and I salute her off, disappearing with Caroline around the corner.

_I have no desire to speak to Elena Gilbert today._

———

I turned the corner to go to my English class, and out pops Stefan Salvatore like a goddamn Jack in the Box. I jump back with a gasp, before smacking him on the chest.

"Don't sneak on people like that, Salvatore!"

He looks reasonably confused, "You're in a crowded hallway, Alessia."

"I said what I said."

He chuckles before he narrows his eyes at me with a very serious look on his face.

"I wanted to tell you that Damon isn't coming back."

My dark brows lift in pretend surprise, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I took care of it."

I fight off a sarcastic answer and instead smirk at him, patting him on the shoulder as I move to pass him, "Good for you, Stefan. I'm glad he can quit getting between you and Elena."

I keep walking, but, Stefan quickly moves to walk besides me, obvious question in his eyes.

"_Wait, _you don't care at all?" He asks incredulously.

I must've really sold that I was interested in him. Damon's super fine, but I don't want a guy who's in love with another woman.

_Wait-_

"No, Stefan," I sigh, resting my arms on the straps of my backpack, "We weren't _actually _together. He just wanted to fuck with you, and we had a business arrangement. So, I went with it."

He sucks in an angry, surprised breath; pulling me to the side of the lockers and once _again_ stopping my walk to class.

"You _went _with it?" Stefan asks angrily, taking a deep breath and pinching his straight nose.

"That's what I said," I reply nonchalantly, not really caring that my plans had upset him once again.

His fist suddenly slams into the locker next to him and I blink, unimpressed as he storms away.

_What a drama queen. _

_He acts like I'm innocent when he barely knows me._

_—————_

**_A/n: Hey guys, thanks for your patience while I dealt with my pet passing away. _**

**_I'm excited to be back and ready to get back in business. Hope you enjoyed the two new edited chapters, and I promise to continue updating consistently._**

**_—————_**


	10. Ten

**Elysian: **_def. _beautiful or creative; divinely inspired; peaceful and perfect

———

**Chapter 10: We Bennetts Look Hot in Bikinis**

**———**

So, I'm pretty sure this is the most comfortable I've ever been.

Bending down to add more soapy water to my sponge, I realized that I would be completely comfortable wearing this purple bikini for the rest of my life.

_I wish being a nudist was socially acceptable._

Me and Bonnie are tag teaming this guy's Chrysler, and I'm happy to do it for the fund to find the 'missing' Mr. Tanner— but the dude behind the windshield is being a total creep. I look up to start on said windshield and the weird old guy winks at me. Caramel eyes roll _hard _as I mentally decide to personally blame Care for this and that she will owe me a milkshake.

I've gotten seriously addicted to the frosty beverages since the last time me and Damon hung out.

_Speaking of which... _I spot Tiki walking away from the car wash altogether, in a bit of a trance.

I had thought that originally, I'd have to get Damon out all by myself since he was 'dating' me— but, I was ever so grateful that he'd been using Tiki as a juice box right before he got put down. I didn't know quite how compulsion rules worked, so I didn't want to assume at first glance that he'd have a mental link to her after just biting her twice. Apparently it was a 'one and done' type of deal.

_Huh, l wonder how long that link is sustainable. It's been, like, five days already._

Oh well, I have no qualms about it.

I just hope for her sake that Tiki's as fast as Caroline was.

Realizing I had spaced out while bending down to renew the soap on my sponge; I continue washing, spreading the suds around the sleek hood of the car. I turn to ask Bons for the hose, but stop when I see how hard she's glaring at the creepy guy in the car.

A rush of magic leaves her, and I'm momentarily stunned at the _intensity _of it before I jump back away from the car.

Flames appear out of thin air from the underside of the vehicle, and I see everyone start to turn around and notice, starting a crowd panic.

Bonnie's in a trance as the doors suddenly all lock the old guy in, who's banging on the windows _very _enthusiastically, and I _hear_ more than see Stefan rush over to the car. He starts trying to pull on the handle, but the metal has gotten too hot.

Rushing over, I turn Bons away from the car, gripping her shoulders tightly as I yell at her, "Bons!! Not the time! _S__nap out of it!"_

She stays still with that glazed eye look, and determination sets in— making me smack her _hard _across the face. Blinking olive eyes regain their clarity, and the flames go down. The creep is grabbed from the car by Stefan and ushered away to safety by a few of the other football guys, including Tyler.

My sister's large watery eyes look at me, pleading with me to tell her that it wasn't her fault, and I pull her into my arms. She responds immediately, clutching me tightly.

"D-Did anyone see?" She asks quietly, and I shake my head, smoothing down her hair in the same comforting motion I've had since we were kids.

"Nah, Bons, we're all good," I whisper back, and I feel her shoulders tremble slightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry," she cries quietly, "I could just see him _looking_ at you like that— and it was so _gross_— and I just got so _angry. _I'm sorry."

I hush her, releasing her before wiping at her eyes, "Calm down, Bons, it's alright. He didn't get hurt, and you were just looking out for me, everything is gonna be fine. But, we need to talk to Grams."

I know just how bothered she is by this, because she doesn't even argue when I mention talking to Grams. She just lets me drive us straight home.

I feel a small twinge of anger, because I already know how _preachy _this conversation is going to get.

———

"Grams, we're talking about this _now!"_ I call out as I usher Bonnie into the house.

I plop her down on the living room couch as I hear Grams' slippered feet creak along the floorboards towards us. When Grams comes in and sees Bonnie's tear-stained face, she freezes; her withered gaze slowly turning sad and sympathetic.

"Oh, _Bonnie,_" she sighs, her tone sad and humble, "I knew this would happen at some point."

Olive green eyes snap to her, bright in their anger.

"Why didn't you _tell _me? Why did you make _Lessy _not tell me?!"

Her voice is raw, and the sadness and hurt I hear in her voice nearly breaks my heart.

Bons had hidden just how bad Grams' secrecy had gotten to her, how much _betrayal _she had felt that I had neglected to see. Anyone could hear also just how hurt she was that she couldn't hear it from me for so long.

I _knew_ she didn't blame me for it— but, _god,_ it hurt me all the same.

Grams retreats back to what I called her 'sage' face.

She specifically used this look on me when she wanted to sound wise, but usually wasn't; like when I had first started using magic and she told me how it wasn't fun and games, how I could _seriously _injure somebody.

The issue with that lesson is that there is a balance.

Magic is a powerful entity, a line directly to Mother Nature, and while nature is as fierce as they come, it also had it's silly nuances. For every hurricane, there's a baby horse trying to learn how to walk; for every volcanic eruption, there are animals at play. Nature is funny in how it can swing from purposeful, to completely purposeless, and Grams didn't realize that while magic was somewhat a serious art— it was also a very fun one, and one that witches shouldn't be afraid of.

"You weren't ready, child."

Bonnie stands in anger, and I see the candles around the room light up along with the fireplace.

_So proud._

_"No,"_ she denies, strong and fierce like a Bennett should be, "_YOU _weren't ready! You weren't ready to raise us, you were never ready to quit drinking, and you were _never _going to be ready to teach me magic! You were going to let me flounder until I came crawling to you, when you've _never _been reliable enough for me to trust you! I almost _killed _someone today, and Lessy was the _only_ one there to help me!"

She points at a very emotional me before continuing, "_Lessy_ was the one who tucked me in at night. _Lessy _was the one who made me dinner while you were passed out drunk. And it was _Lessy _who would stay up late to help me finish my school projects! You, Mom, and Dad, _none _of you tried for us. It's always _been _me and Lessy, and it'll always _be _me and Lessy!"

I have tears running down my cheeks at this point, and I wanna smack myself for being so emotional, but _god_, I needed to hear this. I needed to hear that my work hadn't been for nothing. Needed to hear that Bonnie would _always _be by my side.

Grams is very clearly crying for a different reason. Bonnie never really got to confront Grams like she did Mom in the original timeline. Bons _had _to reconnect with Grams out of desperation back then. To be frank, I was happy to see the change.

Bonnie's eyes are watery once again, cheeks red in anger, as she starts looking coldly at Grams.

"I love you, Grams. But, I don't _need _you."

She moves over to my side, linking our hands, and I look at Grams with pity, because I _knew _she should've talked to Bonnie sooner, and now she was losing her over it.

"_We _don't need you," she whispers, a new wave of tears rolling down her face, and I squeeze her hand to comfort her.

_I'm right here._

Her hand squeezes mine back twice, and that's when I realize that we can't stay here tonight. At least not after this mess. Taking a deep breath, I wipe at the runaway tears under my eyes before looking at my repentant grandma, my gaze sad but unwavering.

"We're gonna stay at Caroline's. Bonnie will message you when we're ready to talk."

And with that, I guide Bonnie upstairs, where she rushes to start to go pack her things. I pick up my phone and call Care. She, of course, picks up on the first ring.

_"Hey, Aless! You would not believe what I just heard!"_

I sniffle and she pauses, before asking, _"Code Red?"_

"Code Red."

———

It's early the next morning when my phone rings, and Bonnie and Care groan from next to me.

Rolling my eyes, I reach blindly for it on the corner table, of course, knocking it off. I have no energy from crying yesterday, and so instead of standing, I promptly roll myself off the bed, landing hard on the floor.

_Okay, maybe I shouldn't be **that** lazy. _

I feel my phone buzz again under my butt, and see a cosmic level shit ton of messages and missed calls, several being from the police. _Guess Tiki didn't make it out._ I start scrolling through the rest, seeing several from Doppelena, Tyler, and the Eternal Stud, himself.

—

**From: **Doppelena

**Msg: **HAV U SEEN BONNIE? SHES NOT PICKIN UP

—

**From: **Tyler Ma Boi

**Msg: **Hey did the cops call u?? Tiki and Vicki r MIA

—

**From: **Eternal Stud

**Msg**: We need to talk. Boardinghouse in 2 hrs

_—_

_Ughhhhh... What a headache. _My eyes feel puffy, and I'm tired still, so I decide to wait to answer the calls to action till later. It was Saturday, I couldn't be blamed for sleeping in, and I had like an hour and a half before I had to see Damon. I'd call the po-po back when it suited my needs.

And with that last thought, I went back to sleep for a bit longer.

———

I had clearly forgotten that I was on the floor when I went back to sleep, and now my neck hurts like hell. I start to rub it harder as I pull up to the Salvatore boardinghouse, stalling the car before walking up to the entrance.

Raising my hand, I knock hard on the large oak door.

_Total silence. Huh, weird. _Then, I listen closely and hear music blaring further within the house, but it's suddenly disrupted by Damon's playful voice calling out from within.

"Sun is in the way, can't open the door at the moment. Use your magic, Glinda."

I quickly use the same spell as before, opening the door to hear Anberlin's "Enjoy the Silence" cover.

_Not bad music taste. Oh, wait I need to act like I dunno what happened to him. _

I glance around the empty foyer as I close the large door behind me, calling out, "Any particular reason why your daylight ring is out of commission, or..?"

Suddenly, a half naked Vicki Donovan appears from around the corner.

_Oh yeah. Forgot about her. _

She glares at me venomously, "What the _hell _are you doing here, homewrecker?"

_Ugh, knew the janitor's closet meeting would bite me in the ass._

Damon picks that spectacular moment to walk into the foyer _with his shirt unbuttoned SWEET **JESUS**-_

He mockingly gasps, pretending to be offended, "Aly Cat— is it true? Did I lose you to the arms of _another_ during my involuntary staycation?"

I blink hard, desperately trying _not _to look at his abs, but then I realize that looking at his pretty face with that shaggy black sex-hair he has going on doesn't help much either, so I just roll my eyes, turning back towards Icky Vicki.

"Oh yes," I say monotonously, "I'm having an affair, Damon, with my best _friend. _But, sweetie, in all fairness, I was informed that you were dead."

His blue eyes harden slightly at that, even though he smirks at my reply, "And leave my lovely lady all to her lonesome? I would _never._"

Vicki stomps off, saying something about getting a drink, and I move my gaze up to the paintings so I don't look at Damon.

"Enough word play," I demand while rubbing my tired eyes, "I've had a long night, and don't have the patience to go tit for tat with you. What the hell happened to your day ring?"

He smiles, before directly vamp speeding into my personal space, and it takes every ounce of my self control not to jump and hit him.

"Dear old Stefan took it after locking me in our cellar for a few days. I was _starving, _Aly Cat. Got that little cheerleader to get me out since I was at the end of my rope," his icy gaze is intense, pinning me as he speaks further, "So, I went and snacked on some kids— ya know, the usual— and then, called Stefan to let him know if I don't get my ring back _very_ soon, then I'm going to turn Elena into a human juice box."

I nod, following his train of thought before my brow furrows, "And you kept Vicki alive because...?"

He shrugs his broad shoulders, a blasé expression on his handsome face, "This is like the third time I've fed off her and she hasn't died. Also, I was bored."

"Alright," I sigh nonchalantly, "and why'd you invite me here with the girl who _hates_ me?"

He spins around, tucking my arm into his like he did at the Founder's Party, before leading me into the main living area. Damon starts dancing a little as we get closer to the sound of music, before full-on spinning me into a chair. He continues the hypnotic sway of his hips, bobbing his dark head along to the music before turning back towards me.

"You think you could make me another ring if Stefan has shipped mine to Timbuktu?" He asks over the music, and I cross my legs in my jean shorts.

"Totally, if you paid me. But, I don't have any lapis lazuli back at home so it'll take me a couple days to get it."

He does a fist pump, continuing to dance, and I can't help but laugh a little at his drunken exuberance, "Perfect. I am partial to mine, but, I'm not a very patientguy."

_I'm well aware._

Vicki comes back into the room, bottle of expensive bourbon in her hand as she dances to the beat. Damon waves for her to pass the bottle, which she does with a flirty smile, then he turns and extends the bottle to me with an eyebrow raise.

_Eh, what the hell. When in Rome._

I grab the bottle, taking a large, burning swig before standing up and starting to dance with them. It hits my stomach hard and fast, making me feel all sorts of warm and fuzzy already, and I know a few more sips from _that_ and I'll be the dancing queen.

———

_I AM THE **GODDAMN** DANCING QUEEN!_

Dunno how long I've been dancing, and I also don't know where my shirt went— but, I don't _care. _

I'm dancing on the dining table with Damon while Vicki throws plates into the walls while spinning. Shaking my hips as we listen to "Mamma Mia" by ABBA, me and Damon sing along to all the words while holding our individual bottles.

"Just one look and I can hear a bell ring!" I shout drunkenly as I strike a pose.

"One more look and I forget everything!" Vicki yells back, hopping up and down along to the song.

Damon laughs at us, before downing the rest of his bottle. He gives me a mischievous look, and suddenly I'm lurched over to the dangerous end of the guard rail on their _enormous_ staircase.

Damon's dance moves suddenly become more sensual in nature, practically oozing _'rock n' roll sex god.'_

_I can do that, too! _I think obstinately in my very drunk mind.

The world's a blur outside of the beautiful Damon Salvatore, and I am _loving _it. I start banging my head, becoming much more freelance with my dance moves, when I see Damon _genuinely_smiling at me.

It takes my breath away, honest to god.

He slowly dances closer to me, moving more like we're at a club than at the edge of falling.

Icy blue eyes look deep into mine, as he moves closer, his hands finding purchase on my hips as the song changes to a slow one.

_Is that 'Twenty One Guns'? It sounds so sweet and soothing_.

Suddenly, it feels like I've blinked, and we're back in the living room.

_Maybe I'm getting used to the vampire speed._

A smile works it's way on my face as I look up into Damon's teasing eyes.He moves my arms around his neck, and we slowly sway back and forth to the music like we're at the prom— instead of half naked and drunk in his living room.

Laying my head on his chest because I'm woozy, I vaguely hear Vicki plop down on the chaise longue, and per the norm, complaining _loudly._

_"_My mom spends most of her time in Virginia Beach with Pete. He drives trucks," her voice cracks slightly as she continues, and I feel Damon's shoulders stiffen in annoyance, "I don't remember my dad, but from what I gather, he's not worth remembering."

_Same, sis._

Damon glances up at Vicki from his tucked position in my neck, "Your life is _so _pathetic."

_Brutal._

She just nods, taking another swig before tearily acknowledging, "Yeah. I mean, _I'm _the screwed-up one. Matt's got it _so easy. _He's the golden boy. I mean, he's gonna get a football scholarship and marry Elena, and have a lawn mower, and have some babies. And when I think of my future, I just come up blank."

I roll my eyes in irritation at her self pity. As if Matt didn't have to deal with the same shit she did.

Pulling my head off of Damon's warm chest reluctantly to look at her, "Matt _doesn't_ have it easy. He's got a lot of pressure on his shoulders being the 'golden boy,' and you don't help with all your bitching. You don't have a future because you don't plan on having one. You just want everything easyand are desperate for someone, _anyone _to pay attention to you_. _It's why you keep running back to Jeremy when you actually want Tyler; it's why you do drugs; and, it's why you're _such_ a bitch."

_Oof, mental note: Drunk Alessia is **brutal**._

Vicki Donovan glares hard at me.

"You'd know wouldn't you, Alessia? _God,_ I've always hated you. You always act like you're so much better than me. And, I hate you even _more _for taking Tyler from me, you home-wrecking cunt."

I stop swaying immediately, pulling fully out of Damon's arms, much to his apparent irritation.

"I'm not _better _than you, Vicki. You could choose to be a better person— start taking care of your younger brother, who _needs _you more than ever— but, no. You decide to snort coke in graveyards."

And that was the heartof why I couldn't stand Vicki.

My greatest purpose in life was to watch out for my sibling, take care of her, and Vicki alwayscasually tossed Matt aside like yesterday's garbage. With Damon and Stefan, I could understand their anger with the other—moreso Damon's than Stefan's— and that's why they always were on each other's throats.

Vicki, however, treated Matt in a similar way to how their mom treated them, and I couldn't stand her for it.

She stands drunkenly from the chaise longue, a slight inebriated sway to her narrow hips as she marches over towards me with fury twisting up her face.

Suddenly, Damon's in front of me, boxing her into a hug when she tries to take a swing at me.

"You seriously don't have one _ounce_ of self-esteem," he sighs, nearly cooing at her as she looks up at him with soft eyes, shaking her head, "I think I know what can help you."

_Where do I remember this from? _

My head is too woozy to tell.

"What's that?" Vicki whispers, gripping his shoulders tightly. I squint my eyes, trying to remember whatever is causing the fire alarm to go off in my drunk brain.

"Death."

Her neck suddenly snaps to the side with a wave of his hand, and my eyes widen.

_Oh yeah, whoops._

_—————_

**_A/n: Hey guys! Thanks for all the love and support from my last post! Hope you enjoy this chapter!_**


	11. Eleven

**Askhole: **_def. _someone who continually asks stupid or pointless questions

———

**Chapter 11: I Might Need Some Help.**

———

"Bons. For the last time, I'm not going to watch Buffy with you and Care."

She pouts looking down at the Grill's knocked up table while carving another bite of steak off and popping it in her mouth.

"Oh, _come on, _Lessy," she whines with her mouth full, "It's ironic, considering."

"And that's _exactly _why I ain't gonna do it. If I'm already living it; watching it would be repetitive info. Anyhoo, where the hell is Caroline? She said she'd be here like fifteen minutes ago."

Sipping another large gulp of milkshake that _Caroline _was supposed to pay for, I glance around ye olde Mystic Grill looking for her familiar blonde head.

"She's looking for a Halloween costume, remember? She takes _forever _when she shops," Bons comments.

I sigh, spinning my unused fork inbetween my fingers before changing the topic, "Still planning on being a witch?"

"I pride myself on being _ironic,_" she bounces back, playfully.

I'm happy to see her in much better spirits after last night, but her comment reminds me of something else.

_Oh. Vicki was gonna be an 'ironic' vampire tomorrow._

I had very quickly made my exit after Damon snapped her neck, not wanting to become newborn vampire chow. Now, I had to think about what I wanted to do here.

I could either let her die— which would require the least effort on my part— but, I'd be guilt tripped every time I spoke to Matt after. Or, I could try and help her, keep Matt somewhat happy, and exercise _maximum_ effort.

As a blonde head popped through the front door of the Grill in my peripheral, I was glad I decided to summon the war council on this one. I couldn't figure out who to leave her to even if I did save her.

Stefan wasn't a good vampire role model _whatsoever_, and Damon would get bored and either kill her or ditch her.

As Care sits her cute butt in the seat across from me, she sets several large store brand bags on the floor by her feet.

"Damn, chica. Did you buy the whole store?" I ask with slightly wide eyes.

She rolls her cornflower blue eyes before shining her bright smile at me.

Her 'I did something for you' smile.

"Oh no, Care! You shouldn't have," I sigh warmly.

She _knows _I love presents, and she would by one randomly every now and again to keep me on my toes.

She shakes her head, "Don't say a word, Aless, I'm not returning it. Now, what did you wanna talk to us about?"

I roll my sore neck before leaning up on the table, clasping my hands together.

"Okay, ladies," I start earnestly, wanting it to come across how serious this was for our friend group, "I'd like to introduce a new group code name called 'war council.' Basically, this is where we decide as a group how to go about the supernatural goings on in Mystic Falls. We'll always take a vote on decisions; and, it'll be majority rules, since this is a democracy."

Bonnie's olive gaze is solemn on mine, and Caroline is looking at me with the most determined expression I've seen on her since we went Black Friday shopping last year.

Seriously. Her right hook to an old woman's face over a cashmere sweater was not something to scoff at.

Bons starts off first, "Okay, I think this is a good idea. But once I tell Elena what's going on, she needs to be part of it, too."

_Ugh._

I nod, but it's not with any eagerness. It's only fair. And besides, once Elena becomes a liability by getting too attached to the hip of the Salvatores, she would _not_ be included in majordecisions anymore.

Caroline nods as well, then looks at me intently, "Now, what do you need to tell us, Aless?"

_There's no easy way to do this, just spill the beans._

"Vicki's accidentally been turned by Damon."

Both pairs of eyes widen substantially, slowly digesting the information, then finally joining back into the discussion.

"Why the _hell _did Damon do that?!" Caroline whisper yells across the table.

Bonnie jumps in, "And secondly, if he's that dangerous why are we_helping_ him?"

My arms raise in mock surrender.

"Hang on! Firstly, Damon did it by accident. Stefan locked him in their cellar for five days and the dude was starving. Went all animalistic on the druggies in the graveyard last night. Vicki was still breathing. Fed her his blood and healed her. She was being super rude to me, and he snapped her neck, but he forgot he'd healed her before, and blames Stefan for keeping him locked up in the first place."

_No need to bring up Tiki since no one directly told me about it._

Caroline's blonde brow furrows, "Wait. Stefan's a vampire?" She then shakes off the question, "Never mind— why did Stefan even lock Damon up in the first place?"

I roll my eyes at Stefan's dramatics, "Long story, short, Stefan provoked Damon, Damon acted out by trying to ruin his relationship with Elena by using me as an in, Stefan decided to play warden."

Bons nods, finally processing my information dump of the last forty eight hours, "Okay, so what are we deciding on?"

"Basically, it's to discuss whether we should help save Vicki or stay out of it," I reply nonchalantly, and the girls both look at me shocked before I raise my hand, pausing their onslaught.

"Look. I don't _want _to see her die. I don't like her, but I don't want her dead. She's Matt's sister. However, she's a newborn vampire with an insatiable lust for blood who _also _happens to be a drug addict. The odds of her going all crackhead is really high, and she's actually pretty dangerous right now, because she's unpredictable. Also, she's made a point of telling me how much she hates me, so she could attack any one of us out of spite."

"Why would Vicki do that?" Caroline asks innocently, not knowing quite as much about vampires as Bons and I did.

Bonnie blows out a puff of air, cupping the back of her neck nervously before answering, "Vampires have really heightened emotions, and since she's a baby, her's are _wayyy _worse. A little sadness turns into depression, a little happiness turns into insanely chipper.."

".. And anger turns into 'murderous rampage?'" She fills in, and we both nod, "Jesus Christ."

"Yeah, so, now that you guys have all the deets, what do you want to do?" I ask.

The vibe at the table is stone cold serious, and both of my closest friends and family are staring hard at the table for a few minutes, deliberating.

Caroline speaks first.

"I think... We should leave it," she whispers quietly, and both us Bennetts look up at her in question, "She's an actual threat to you guys, and if she's already a full vampire, she bit into _someone's _neck already. Vicki doesn't have any self controll, and she could seriously hurt Matt— even on accident. Not to mention, Tyler..."

I blink. I blink again.

_I don't think I was ready to hear quite such a mature response from her. And she has a point about Matt and Ty. _

Bonnie then looks up to me, her eyes burning with a million thoughts going a mile a minute.

"My vote is to save Vicki Donovan. We owe it to Matt and Tyler."

_Bonnie also makes a brilliant point. Shit._

Looks like it was up to me. I roll my eyes momentarily before crossing my arms, I _really _didn't wanna do this.

"Ugh, bleeding hearts of the world unite, I vote we save Vicki Donovan."

_———_

"Alright Bons, ready to learn something new?"

She nods earnestly, and I set our Great Aunt Peggy's grimoire on the table before turning back around and grabbing the handful of herbs and red candles we'll need to do this.

I _knew _that around this time Vicki was gonna end up around the woods— but, I didn't know _where; _so, this provided an excellent opportunity to teach Bons about location spells.

Dropping all the shit on Caroline's bedroom table, I start setting up the candles before telling Bonnie, "Hey, open that to the Channeled Location spell. Not the regular one— since none of us have any of Vicki's DNA, and I'm not asking Matt for any of his."

She nods, quickly turning through the pages of English and Latin pages, and I proceed to spill salt into a circle around our town map of Mystic Falls that we grabbed from the gas station.

"Usually," I sigh as I set up, "I'd have _you_ doing the set up so you'd know how to prep for an actual spell instead of the chants and incantations we've been practicing; but, we'll just save it for another time since we're on a time crunch."

Caroline watches us move like busy bees all over her room with a very intrigued look on her face as she rests on her beanbag.

"So, this'll actually find Vicki?"

Bonnie nods.

"It should. Since the instructions include me channeling Lessy, it should be really accurate. Also, since me and Lessy are so closely related, it makes channeling her a lot easier, and a little stronger than a regular one."

Lighting each of the candles around the salt circle, I quickly plant sage and a couple crystals around the circle to ensure this shit won't blow up in our faces. I quickly place Vicki's school picture from last year under the map, and we're ready to go. Turning to Bons, who's reading over the grimoire, I dust off my hands.

"You ready, Bons?"

She nods resolutely, "Let's do this thing."

Caroline watches on with complete focus as I move over to Bonnie, handing her the summer camp bracelet she made me when we were 10, while she in turn gives me her favorite necklace that our Dad gave her god knows when. These would act as our talismans. We lock hands, turning towards the table.

_"Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem," _we chant in unison, and I immediately feel Bonnie's magic attach to mine.

I thought it'd feel weird; but, Bonnie's magic was a lot like her presence, and in that sense it was comfortable to me. Like two pieces of a puzzle. After the connection is made, Bonnie stretches one palm forward over the map, continuing to chant as she pulls further on my magic.

I continue to chant with a picture of Vicki in my mind, and a small flame extends from the center of the map, right above her picture. It trails like it's following a thin line of lighter fluid, burning bright, but never burning the rest of the map.

_That is, if Bonnie keeps her focus. If not, she could burn the whole map._

Eventually, the trail flares bright for a moment as it reaches a certain point within the woods.

Suddenly, an image of Vicki finally stopping her run appears to me, seeing as she sinks onto the forest floor and begins to cry.

I blink as my eyes are suddenly back in their original position, and Bonnie turns to me urgently.

"Did you see her, too?" She asks and I quickly nod in affirmation, snatching the map from off the table.

The only burn mark that's on there is on the spot in the woods.

"We gotta hurry, the sun is setting already," Bons says, grabbing her jacket from behind Care's chair.

Caroline snaps out of her stupor and quickly grabs her car keys off of her side table, giving us an excited smile.

"Alright, Twitches! Let's go save the attention whore!"

———

We pull up to the edge of the road closest to Vicki's location.

"Hey, Caroline?" I ask seriously, and she subsequently turns to me in her seat, "Make sure you're right by me and Bons the _whole _time we're out here."

She rolls her eyes and glares at me in reply, "I'm not an idiot, Aless. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

_I always worry._

We all exit the vehicle, and start climbing up the brief incline into the woods. Caroline is practically attached to my hip as we continue forward, with Bons guiding us because I'm absolute shit at maps. Eventually, we hear a slight sniffle from behind a large tree. I elbow Bonnie forward, since she's the only one of us that Vicki is impartial to, but I'm ready to spit out a spell the _second _the bitch acts up.

Vicki looks up at her, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What the hell are you doing here, Bennett?"

Bonnie sighs before squatting down to Vick's level, eyeing her earnestly.

"_We're _here to help, Vicki. Are you okay? I know the transition is hard."

The baby vampire's eyes get harsh and defensive immediately, "Who's _we? _And how do you know what happened?"

I quickly step into Vick's line of sight, and Caroline quickly follows behind me, causing said vamp to let out a bitter laugh.

"Of course, it's _fucking _Alessia and Caroline. Who else would it be?" Her glare turns to me, and I can tell she's barely controlling her rage, "I don't needyou to save me."

I decide to take the delicate, honest route that'll appeal to her humanity the most.

"I'm aware. I'm doing this because Matt needs his sister around."

She blinks at me owlishly, as if it never occurred to her that I'd help her for Matt's sake. Her green eyes slightly soften towards me, and she looks sadly at Bonnie.

"I didn't want _this_ to happen. I'm just so _hungry_."

Bonnie nods softly, placing a gentle hand on the girl's crying shoulder.

_Such a compassionate person. I wish I was this nice. _

I hear a twig snap behind me, and reflexively whisper, "_Incendia_," my intention to make whoever snuck behind me surrounded by a ring of fire.

Caroline screams and all us girls turn to see the godly Stefan Salvatore trapped in my ring.

"Goddamn it, Stefan!"I snap at him, quickly dispelling the flames with a wave of my hand, "No one ever tell you _not_ to sneak up behind people?!"

_Totally forgot he was coming. That spell from earlier must be making me spacey._

He just stands there, not saying a word as he looks like a handsome deer in the headlights, wild green gaze shifting confusedly between me, Bonnie, Vicki, and Caroline.

Bons waves her hand, trying to snap him out of it.

"Earth to Stefan?"

Suddenly, Stefan looks hard at me with his pretty green eyes, "Why are you all here, Alessia?"

Not wanting to completely divulge how I knew about Vicki turning at the moment, I roll my eyes.

"We're obviously here to help, Stefan. Now, let's take Vicki back to the boardinghouse. It's fucking cold."

_Wait a minute, isn't Vick supposed to go full vampire at some poin-_

A gunshot suddenly rings out, and Stefan crashes to the floor.

As I hear the second one, I don't entirely register it. All I register is a fiery pain starting up from the joint in my shoulder.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck it **hurts**!_

I barely register falling to the ground, spotting that _god damn_ news anchor holding a smoking gun a few feet away.

Bonnie screams, "_LESSY!!_" and I hear Caroline scream again.

I'm laying on the forest floor, trying not to cry out from the pain— but failing significantly, when I see Vicki start inching towards me, in a complete haze of hunger.

_Double **fuck**._

Bonnie launches Logan Fell into the tree next to us, and I'm pretty sure I hear Caroline screaming for Vicki to stop, as she is fairly close to me now. I start trying to get up— _trying _to ignore the pain in my shoulder as I inch away from the baby 'not really a vampire yet' vampire. Bonnie once again flares her magic and launches Vicki across the clearing, into a stone ruin nearby.

Hearing Stefan groan in pain, I spin and see Logan Fell about to turn said pretty vampire into a shish kebab.

That is, until the wonderful Damon Salvatore snaps his pretty teeth into the guy's neck. I sigh gratefully.

_That's one problem down— and I'm feeling less and less inclined to help the other one._

I quickly chant a spell to numb some of the pain in my shoulder, instantly thinking about how _stupid _I got in this situation. If I couldn't function proficiently while in pain, I would _never _be able to save my sister and friends— let alone, myself. Not to mention, I'd be stupid if I thought I wasn't going to get tortured at some point down the road.

_I need to work on my pain tolerance._

Damon proceeds to dig the bullet out of Stefan, not really caring if it hurt him.

"It's wood," he sighs, rolling his big blue eyes, "They _know_."

Then, Damon glances up at the rest of us momentarily.

"And, _apparently, _so do all of you," he says more like a question before he locks his pretty blue eyes on mine, quickly looking me over, noting the bullet wound before then turning back to Stefan.

"If anyone's gonna kill you, it's gonna be me," Damon adds tastefully, before asking, "My ring?"

Stefan slowly pulls the large, ugly blue ring out of his pocket, and Damon quickly slides it on his finger with a satisfied smirk and a hum. The sudden crunch of teeth against flesh rings out, and I can't help but be grossed out as Vicki hums into Logan Fell's bleeding neck.

_Eww._

Stefan's eyes widen as he weakly tries to sit up.

"_No! _No, Vicki!"

_Did he want her to die? Cuz, if she didn't drink that, she was gonna die._

The new vampiress then looks around the woods, locking eyes with all of us, and I can feel my nose curl in disgust at how _messy _she ate. Like seriously, Damon was so clean and tidy, while she looked like she tried bobbing for apples in a pool of blood.

_Where's the **class?**_

"I'm sorry," she quietly sighs, but I know she doesn't mean it.

Not that I blame her for not being too apologetic, though. This was just what vampires did, no reason to get personal over it.

Then, she stands up and dashes into the darkness of the woods once again.

_The ingrate. I just took a bullet to save her ass and she just leaves. _

_I should've voted for her to die._

Bonnie snaps out of her shock from seeing a dead body for the first time, quickly rushing over to me and running her hands through my messed up hair.

"Oh god, Lessy! Are you okay?" She asks worriedly, looking at the bloodstain on my shirt. Caroline quickly follows and crouches on my other side.

"I'm so sorry, Aless. God! We should've just let her die!" Care yells, frustrated, blue eyes bright with worry and anger.

"Guys, guys— I'm fine." I grit out, starting to sit up fully, "We might need to do a second vote on Vicki, though."

It was a joke, causing Bonnie and Caroline to bite out a laugh incredulously. The crunch of leaves next to us alerts me to Damon's presence, and Care and Bonnie both look at him with matching glares, trying to see if he's a threat.

"Calm down," he says mockingly, "I have no desire to nibble on Aly Cat, but I doubt you guys can pull that bullet out."

_Aw, man. That's **really** going to hurt._

They cautiously move away enough to give him room to work, but not far away enough to indicate trust. _I get why. _

Damon crouches down beside me, looking at the bloody hole in my shirt, before looking at me intensely.

"If you've got any sort of witchy spell for the pain, I suggest you use it now."

_I'll practice pain tolerance another day. _

I quickly whisper a small incantation to make it even less painful, nearly numbing my arm out, before giving him a quick nod to start.

It doesn't really help.

———

So, now we were all grouped up at the Salvatore boardinghouse in the early morning, me all patched up thanks to vampire blood.

Caroline was sitting on the couch in the living room next to Bons, both ladies clutching their tumblers of bourbon hard. It was probably really hard for them to bounce from regular teens to supernaturally-aware ones so soon, but they were so strong in how they were dealing with it. Neither of them had broken down and cried; neither had hesitated when trying to save me.

_So, so proud._

I took another swig from my glass as both of the Salvatores walked back into the room with the missing Vicki.

"Found her!" Damon cheerfully calls out as he shoves her onto the opposite couch, smoothly pouring himself a glass before gesturing to ours, "Oh, but don't you lovely teens have to go to school?"

"Me and Bons are taking a sick day," I reply, taking another swig of the drink that I had watered down.

I then turned to Caroline, "You, chica?"

She waves me off nonchalantly, but I can tell by how her shoulders are set that she's nervous about having Vicki in the room.

"Don't worry. My mom gives me five days every quarter where I can take a breather from school. This would be my second."

Vicki acts as if nothing is wrong, scoffing as she slumps further into the couch. Stefan sits across from her, and I can tell by the look on her face that she's about to annoy the shit out of me.

"I don't understand why I have to be cooped up here," she whines, "Why can't I just go home?"

Me and Care have to stifle a laugh when Bons glares at her, snarking, "Why do you _think_?"

Vicki rolls her eyes at her as Stefan slips into his 'forever-suffering vampire' role.

"Because you're changing, Vicki, and it's not something you want to do alone."

Damon flips through the morning newspaper, his brow furrowing as he scans it, "There's nothing about that Logan guy I killed in here, not a _word. _Someone's covering it up."

"Probably the Council," Caroline adds, helpfully, and it makes the blue eyed vampire hum thoughtfully. That would make the most sense, but I knew it wasn't the truth. The douche bag who shot me was a bonafide Dracula by now.

Vicki glances back at whatever Damon is clattering in his hand.

She asks, "What's that?" And I'm once again reminded that I find her voice grating to my eardrums.

"This," he says, slightly lifting the compass, "is a very special_, _very _old_ compass. What was Logan Fell doing with it? Aren't you curious?" He glances at Stefan who in turn looks away in annoyance.

"Hey, coven?"

Me, Bons, and Care all glance up at the new nickname for our girl group, Damon smirking awful pretty at us.

"Think you could figure it out for me?"

Bonnie surprises me by waving her hand in a 'pass it' motion, Damon subsequently tossing it over to her waiting hands.

She looks hard at it, frowning slightly.

"It's magic— _defensive _magic— but, I can't tell why it's there."

Stefan looks up from the book he had grabbed at some point, looking back at Damon, "Well, if you're so worried that somebody's onto you— why don't you just leave town, Damon?"

_Little passive aggressive there, Stefano. _

"Not optional, baby Salvatore," I sigh, looking at my nails as he turns to look at me suspiciously.

"We should _all _be worried," Damon adds with a wolfish smirk, clearly glad that what I said had gotten under Stefan's skin.

Stefan doesn't lose his focus on me, however.

"Speaking of which, Alessia," the younger Salvatore starts, and I already know where this is going as he leans forward to pay full attention to me.

"How'd you know that Vicki had been turned?"

_Ugh, fine._

Crossing my legs and leaning back, I eye him in a way that I hope shows I'm not scared of him at _all_, before saying, "Because, I was over here when Damon snapped her neck."

Literally everyone else in the room was aware of this fact except for Stefan, so he's the only one who is clearly bothered by it.

"And you didn't _stop _him?" He asks; quiet, but nonetheless angry.

"I was plastered, Stefan. My reaction time isn't _great _when I'm wasted," I sneer, not enjoying being put on trial over Vicki Donovan, of all people.

Green eyes harden at my blasé tone, and Stefan takes a deep breath, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"You decided to get completely wasted with a vampire and then _also _let him use Vicki as a blood bag?"

I glare right back.

"Easy there, _Clark Kent_. Technically, the vampire saved her from dying after _you_ starved him, and he didn't drink from her much the entiretime I was there. I've had a long night, and I'm tipsy. If you keep annoying me, I'll launch your ass into _that _bookcase," I state with a flick of my finger towards said bookcase.

_I am seriously getting fucking tired of him trying to tell me what to do._

His thick brows furrow further, his eyes soft and pleading for me to listen to him, "Alessia—!"

I swiftly lift my hand and launch his body into the book case.

Caroline gasps, and Bonnie breaks out laughing. Her laugh isn't a hundred percent genuine, but I'm guessing some of it is from the stress earlier. Vicki's eyes snap back and forth from the now ruined bookcase to me, clearly not understanding what the fuck was going on. And Damon, well, Damon had a very amused grin on his face and let out a low whistle before turning back to his newspaper.

_Gotta love magic._

_———_

**_A/n: Hey all! Hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. And to the guest who said I should've just made my character an OC and not had her be a Bennett at all if Bonnie wasn't the main character, well, I just didn't want to. _**

**_If you are tired of reading from Alessia's perspective, Alessia's Guide to Surviving the Vampire Diaries is probably not the fanfic for you. _**

**_Thanks to those who have been helpful and supportive in their criticism! _**

**_———_**


	12. Twelve

**A/n: Hey guys, so I've gotten a lot of questions about why this is taking so long to update, but I need you guys to understand that coronavirus is really affecting me too.**

**I was fired, my lease goes out in like two months, and I'm barely making it by right now. I'm sorry, you guys, but fanfics just haven't been my priority as of late. **

**I will continue to update when I can, and like I said before, I will be changing the story towards the later chapters. You'll probably see more new content in the story once I hit chapter 20.**

**Love y'all, and take care of yourselves.**

**———**

**Nyctophilia: **_def. _love of darkness or night; finding relaxation or comfort in darkness

———

**Chapter 12: Stab Me In the Eye, Please.**

———

Caroline moves to use me and Bons as her respective headrest and footrest as Stefan dusts himself off.

He doesn't look as angry anymore, instead, more or less calm, maybe even pensive.

Vicki is clearly still very confused, but decides not to push her brain too far, instead looking up at Stefan and clearly prepping to whine about something else.

"Hey, um, I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

Caroline rolls her pretty blue eyes, clearly annoyed with Vicki's commentary, as well. Stefan takes it in stride however, quickly walking over to the table and grabbing a mug of what I assume is animal blood with the way the elder Salvatore scoffs.

"Here," Stefan says, handing the cup to her gently.

She looks at it with a raised eyebrow before looking back up at him.

"What is it?"

"It's what you're craving," is his cryptic answer; me and Bons having to stifle either a scoff or a laugh, not sure which.

Damon groans slightly, not even looking up from the newspaper.

"Don't lie to the girl. That is _so_ not what you're craving. But, it'll do in a pinch. Right, Stef?" The Eternal Stud asks, coyly.

"What is it?" Baby Vamp asks.

Damon smirks, "Yeah! What is it? Is it skunk? Saint Bernard? _Bambi?_"

"Go on," Stefan gently says to Vicki while ignoring his brother, like she's a child, "Give it a try."

Vick takes a sip, and by her face I already know; if I end up a vampire, I am _not _doing the 'vegetarian' route. I can't even do that in real life.

_Speaking of which, once I'm sober: **burgers**._

"She's _new,_" Damon inserts, "She needs _people _blood. She can't sustain on that stuff."

Bonnie sighs, "Thank god, for a second there, I thought 'blood' was some taboo vampire word you guys couldn't say in social circles."

I raised an eyebrow as Care chuckled on my lap.

_She has a point._

"Yeah," Vicki starts obstinately, "Why can't I have people blood?"

"Because," I interrupt, feeling just a bit salty, "Misery loves company."

Damon barks out a laugh, and Stefan looks at me like I'm the devil incarnate before turning back to Vicki, "Because it's _wrong _to prey on innocent people, Vicki."

The eye roll that me and Damon share is _powerful. _

Damon shakes his head at his brother's idiotic logic, "You don't have to _kill _to feed. Just find someone really tasty and then erase their memory afterwards. It's _so _easy."

"No, no, no. There's no guarantee that you can control yourself, okay? It takes _years _to learn that. You could easily _kill _somebody, and then you have to live with that for the rest of your life— which, if I haven't made _clear_, is eternity," Green eyes bore into Vicki, clearly urging her to choose the most difficult path.

"And the best way to teach her, _Stefan, _is to slowly get her used to the thirst and train her self control on the regular stuff, not start off with decaf," Bonnie argues, "No offense, Vicki— but, Stefan.. she doesn't have _great _self control as it is. Trying to get her on your strict diet when she's already predisposed to being 'ripperish' even as a human is a _terrible _idea."

_You tell him, Bons._

Caroline nods, closing her eyes as I start running my hands through her hair, "Yeah, Stefan. No offense, but if you guys are trying to keep her a vegetarian vamp; I don't want to help. She'll end up either killing someone or dying. It'd be a total waste at the risk of _our _lives."

I glance up at Stefan, and his eyes are hard and defiant on mine.

There was no way he was going to actually _think _about this and change his mind. His way of life is unsustainable even for _him, _but he was too stubborn to realize it. I glance over at Bonnie, and find she's already looking at me with tired eyes.

_Fine, then. H__e can learn the hard way._

"I, Alessia Bennett, hereby call for a renewed vote by the war council. A or B?"

Simultaneously, they glance at Stefan and Vicki before looking back at me, both replying, "B."

_Well, that's that._

Both pretty men and Vicki look at us three in confusion before Stefan snaps back to the issue at hand.

"Hey, look at me," Stefan says to a rapidly more disinterested Vicki, "We choose our own path. Our _values _and our _actions, _they define who we are."

I can't help but groan at Stefan's overwhelming cheesiness.

"Good life lesson, Mr. Rogers; but, it doesn't apply when there's no moral ramifications for the alternative option," I scoff sarcastically.

"_Ooookay, _Count Deepak. I am out of here," Damon says in a fake happy tone, before turning his sharp blue eyes to me petting Caroline's pretty blonde head.

"You coming?" He asks with a dark arch of his brow.

I'm a little flattered at the invite, but I shake my head, answering, "Nah, Care owes me a milkshake, so we'll leave as soon as we're sober. Not to mention, we brought her car."

He shrugs, heading out of the room, and I sigh.

_We shouldn't have drank this much. I don't wanna be here anymore._

I can tell the sentiment is shared by my two besties by the sour looks on their faces. Vicki then licks the rim of her cup, looking back up at Stefan.

"Can I have some more?"

_Ugh._

Then— as if the universe itself decided today was 'Shit On Alessia' Day'— I hear the one voice I specifically _do not _want to hear bright and early in the fucking morning.

"Stefan?" Elena calls out, and I see Bons tense up out of the corner of my eye.

Caroline opens one cornflower blue eye and sighs in exasperation, throwing her arm over her face dramatically before moaning, "_Noooooooooo._"

Stefan exits the room, and I look over to check on Bonnie.

"You gonna be okay, Bons?"

She nods firmly, "Yeah. I've been putting it off, might as well get it over with."

Caroline throws her arm back off her face, "Have you mentioned the witch stuff to her yet?"

"Yeah," she sighs, closing her olive eyes tiredly and taking another large sip of bourbon, "But, I'm pretty sure she wasn't taking me seriously."

Vicki decides to insert herself in a specifically three way conversation.

"Wait, you guys are _witches? _I thought that was just the town joke."

I roll my eyes, choosing to ignore her so we don't fight, "Well, she'll take you seriously now. I'm gonna need another drink for this."

Suddenly, Vicki leaves the room, probably hearing Stefan and Elena shit talking about her.

I hear several sets of footsteps approaching the room, and I make with pouring myself a _large _drink. I'm like an inch from the top of the glass tumbler when Vicki stomps in, followed closely by Stefan. Finally, Elena walks in, and she licks eyes with me first, causing me to take a large swig of the drink in preparation.

"_Alessia?" _She asks, clearly extremely confused, "What are you doing here?"

I shrug as her large doe eyes start scanning the room, widening comically when they see Bonnie and Caroline in the room.

She frantically looks back and forth between us and Vicki before nervously saying, "Oh my god— Bonnie, Caroline, you _need_ to get out of here!"

_Not me? Rude._

Both Bons and Care look in shock at Elena already being _very_ aware of what's happened to Vicki. I see them start to connect the dots that Elena has been aware of vampires for a hot minute, and she just hadn't told them about it. In all fairness, neither had they though, so.. yeah.

"Elena," Bonnie starts slowly, pushing Caroline's legs off before standing up unsteadily, "Me and Caroline already know."

Her doe brown eyes won't quit blinking widely as Doppelena starts pacing a bit, clearly not processing the information very well.

"W-wait. So, you guys knew all along?" She asks, a judgmental crease appearing between her brows, and I sigh.

"Calm down, Elena. The only one who's known about the supernatural from the get go is me. Care and Bons only learned very recently because I told them. I should also mention for time's sake that me and Bonnie are both full blown witch bitches."

Doppelena then sets her gaze on me, clearly furious, "And you didn't think to tell me?!"

I squint at her, clearly confused by her logic, "Why _would _I tell you? I don't like you."

"I'm aware, _Alessia,_" she sneers back, "It's called 'human decency'!"

"Must've gotten lost in the mail," I reply boredly, promptly lifting Care's head back up so I can sit down again.

It isn't even _entertaining _to argue with Elena Gilbert. The girl is a perpetual 'fun' black hole.

Elena rolls her big brown eyes before turning sharply back to Bonnie and Caroline.

"And why didn't you guys tell me?" She asks, clearly hurt, "You're supposed to be my _friends_."

Cue an eye roll from me as Bons sighs, "Probably for the same reason _you _didn't, Elena. I was still trying to get you warmed up to the idea of me being a witch, _remember?_"

Elena blinks back at her reasoning being thrown back at her face, before looking towards Care, who drunkenly waves her off, "Don't _even_, Elena. We aren't on speaking terms at the moment."

_Told ya she holds grudges._

Elena sighs, clearly exasperated and worried, before looking at Stefan for a sign or something that this was all a joke. Meanwhile, said Salvatore was looking at me with a clearly frustrated expression, mixed with something deeper. Anger, disappointment, fear, something positive, who knows?

"Let's all talk downstairs. We can discuss everything more comfortably in there," he finally says after a beat of silence, and Caroline turns and groans into my stomach.

"Of _course _I have to get up right after I got my pillow back," she mumbles into my stomach, and despite my foul mood, I laugh.

*

So, here we all were, a veritable Losers Club each with a cup of coffee. Me, Care, and Bons all sipped our coffee in silence, no longer caring about the entire Vicki situation. We'd only hung out with her for a few hours, but were entirely ready to not do it again. I didn't care whether she survived or not, I just prayed that if she _did _she'd be shipped far, _far _away, because otherwise, she'd be somewhat part of the Goof Troop and I had no inclination to see her on _that _regular of a basis.

"Coffee is our friend," Stefan says delicately to a more obstinate Vick, "It's the caffeine, it circulates through our veins, and it warms our body so we're not so cold to the touch."

_Must be the same for alcohol, Damon's chest was toasty when I cuddled into it. Mmm... Damon's chest.._

Vicki groans, taking me out of my delicious daydream, "Well, what if I _want_ to drink human blood?"

"You can't," I say while taking a long sip, not looking at Stelena as they snap their eyes towards me, "It'll offend Elena and Stefan's delicate sensibilities."

Elena scoffs, "Just because _you_ don't have any morals, doesn't mean she shouldn't."

I roll my eyes, and Caroline responds for me, Queen Bee 'nice' voice and all.

"Totally, instead we'll just _force _her to follow your morals! I'm sure that won't backfire. Might make her a little two-faced, though."

Elena scoffs, folding her arms, and I can't stop the satified grin that works up on my face. Stefan soon turns back to Vicki, "You're gonna have to learn to live with that urge and fight it on a daily basis, one day at a time."

Bonnie suddenly stands up from her seat, glaring hard at Stefan, "This is _stupid_, and I'm sober enough to where I don't need to listen to you feed this girl anymore bullshit. Vicki is already an addict, and you're doing the one thing that _isn't _going to help her because you're too prideful to listen to your brother. Come on, guys, we're leaving."

_There's that Bennett brutal honesty._

Elena stands up as well, reaching for Bonnie's arm, and I glare at her when she pulls my sister back, looking at Bons nearly pleadingly.

"Bon, Stefan has lived like this for a _long _time and he hasn't hurt anyone," _Yeah, right, _"He can teach her how to live without being a monster."

Bonnie looks sadly at her best friend, slowly pulling her arm away, "You don't _know_ that, Elena. Stefan's way of life is unsustainable for vampires and requires an insane amount of willpower to do for even a short amount of time. He's living off of the human equivalent of wheatgrass, and he'll fall off the wagon again someday. And, I'm going to be so sadfor you when that happens, Elena."

Then, she turns and walks out of the dining room. Me and Care set our coffee cups down, the latter smiling at Stefan and Vicki.

"Thanks for the coffee, Stefan! Best of luck, Vicki! I'll tell your brother you're okay," Then, Care Bear promptly files out.

I shove my hands in my pockets, starting to walk away, but stop and turn to Vicki.

"Vicki, my phone number is on the upstairs table. If you need help, _call._"

And with that, I turn to walk to the car and, by god, hopefully head to get a burger.

_That's the last branch of good will I'm extending to her. _

_If she dies, she dies._

_———_

"Alessia! If you don't hurry up in there I'm gonna piss myself!" Bons yells through Caroline's bathroom door. Finishing off rinsing the dye out of my hair, I quickly wrap it in a towel.

"Hang on! It was hard to rinse out this color!" I yell back, trying to throw on my sweats and tank top over the towel, and not doing a very good job of it.

Finally, I shrug it on before yanking open the door, promptly being shoved out of the way by a Bonnie who looks like she's about to _actually _wet herself.

_I thought she was just being dramatic._

Suddenly, Care barrels out of her bedroom, fully dressed in a sexy Queen of Hearts costume.

"_LET ME SEE!" _She shouts cheerily before promptly yanking off my towel headdress and making my 'still somewhat dyed' curls hit my tank top. I already _know _it's ruined forever.

She gasps excitedly and I, in turn, glare at her with hardly any real heat behind it.

"Look what you _did_, chica! Now my favorite beat up tank is gonna have weird orange spots."

That's right, I've gone full-on ginger.

She seems to think on it for a moment before snapping her fingers, "Oh! I know what it looks like! You have penny-colored hair!"

I raise an eyebrow at how _blonde _that sounded, "You mean _copper_?"

She smacks me on the shoulder, grumbling about how I knew what she meant before shoving one of her shopping bags from yesterday into my hands.

"You can thank me later," she announces before taking off like a butterfly down her staircase.

I glance inside the bag, seeing pieces for an angel costume within.

_I swear I love that woman. She understands that I love the irony of the subverting expectations__**— **__unlike **SOMEONE** I know._

———

Me, Bons, and Care Bear strut into the neon Halloween party, and I feel my excitement grow.

The amount of cockiness I feel is slowly growing; mostly because the more I look around the crowded party, the more I realize that we three are _literally _the finest pieces of ass this town has to offer.

_Jesus, I'm so vain._

We walk around a bit before we see anyone we actually like, 'anyone' being Matt and Tyler. Ty is in a Roman or Greek costume; who knows, I'm not cultured. And Matt is wearing... the exact same couples costume he wore with Elena last year.

_Oof. _

"Hey, guys!" Tyler shouts in greeting over the music, clearly buzzed already as he throws an arm over me and Caroline.

He looks over at Caroline momentarily, "Now, _your _costume makes sense, Caroline," then, he turns to me, "But _yours _makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

I smack him on the chest.

"Oh, _shut up._ I could be an angel."

Everyone else looks at me like I've spoken gibberish, and I roll my eyes.

"Whatever."

Matt turns to us with kind, but worried eyes, and I feel a bit of guilt already swirling in my stomach. It's making me a bit glad that I had given Vicki a second chance.

"Hey, have you guys heard anything from Vicki? She acted super weird at the house and I'm worried," Matt confesses earnestly.

Caroline gives him her most reassuring smile, and I'm surprised at how genuine it looks.

"Don't worry, Matt. She's just trying to get clean. It's a _good _thing."

Matt smiles warmly back at her, and it makes me happy to see the people I actually give a shit about happy. Suddenly, Vicki comes up to our circle, Stefan and Elena close behind her. She hardly pays attention to Tyler, instead urgently glancing from me to Matt.

Stefan and Elena also rapidly join the group, firmly keeping their concerned eyes on Vicki.

Said baby vampire looks around nervously, before snapping, "I _told _you both to quit fucking bothering me!"

She then grabs my arm and starts dragging me away from the crew; perfectly gentle— considering that she has super vampire strength at the moment. I see the rest of the gang barricading Stelena off as Vicki races me down a purple hallway.

Vicki stops us, looking desperately into my eyes.

"I need your help, Alessia. I can't _do _it. I can't live off of animal blood! It's not _enough._ I feel like I'm about to lose my fucking mind."

I raise my arms in an attempt to get her to relax, "Okay, okay, calm down. We can figure something out. But, first thing's first, we need to get you the _hell _out of Mystic Falls. No offense— you don't have to stay gone forever. But, you do need someone to show you the ropes where you won't be recognized so easy. This town has a council that does _not _like vampires, and you _will _be killed if you get caught here."

She nods slowly, "Can I take Jeremy with me?"

I raise my eyebrow.

"The dork is fifteen. Someone is going to put out a missing kid poster, probs Elena, so I wouldn't recommend it. But, if you want to— you can try. I'm not your mom."

Vicki deliberates for a second, before I see her perk up, grabbing me once again and leading me further into the maze of hallways, "You're right. I can't have cops trying to chase after me anymore than they probably will."

_Oh, I get it. _She just likes having a choice.

Like any other bratty teen, if you force her to do something, she'll do the _worst_ thing she can do out of spite.

_How stupid. _

She then let's go of my arm at an intersection.

"I can hear Jeremy down this way," she sighs ruefully, glancing down before looking at me again, "I want to say goodbye. Meet me over by the buses in five?"

"Sure."

She jets off down the neon green hallway covered in spider webs and I heave a sigh.

This was going to be maximum effort.

———

So, I go open the back door to go outside at exactly five minutes; lo and behold, Stefan is about to pierce a very vampy-looking Vicki— who happens to be latched onto Elena's bleeding neck— with a sharp pointy stake.

I quickly throw my hand out to move Stefan away from staking Vicki, whispering a quick, "_Incendia,"_ which the. lights said vampiress' hand on fire.

She yelps out in pain, quickly releasing Elena to pat her flaming hand out, before turning to snap at me venomously.

"Don't you _fucking _dare, Vicki. I just saved your ass from being impaled on a stick— but, if you jump at me, I won't hesitate to kill you myself," I threaten.

Vicki's veins slowly disappear from beneath her green eyes as she gets a handle on her emotions.

She looks down apathetically at Elena who's holding her still-bleeding neck, and then at Stefan who apparently had accidentally impaled himself in the stomach when he got sent back to the wall.

"You guys are no help at all," she says before spitting out some of Elena's blood on the floor and walking over towards me. Jeremy looks _very _freaked out, but not nearly as freaked out as he did in my memories when Vick had died.

I dust off my hands, glancing over at Stefan, "You guys _clearly _don't have the handle on this that you thought you did. I'll take care of _this, _you take care of _that,_" I gesture towards Jeremy shivering on the floor.

And with that, we left.

Told Matt she was going to rehab, and promptly threw her on the latest cross country bus to New Orleans.

They were a shitton of vampires under Marcel Gerard down there, and I sincerely doubted they'd be upset about teaching a pretty baby vamp the lay of the land. Not to mention, it was a touristy place, so even if she _did _fuck up, it'd stay relatively hush-hush.

Vicki Donovan gave me a warm smile as she left.

_I think she forgives me for being a homewrecking slut._

_———_

**_A/n: So, I let Vicki live! Matt doesn't get a lot of wins, so I figured I'd let this one slide. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for all the comments!! Love you guys._**

**_———_**


	13. Thirteen

**Misanthrope:** _def._ a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society

———

**Chapter 13: The News Is For Sheep.**

———

The last few days had gone by peacefully.

I let Lexi die.

Nothing too major would go wrong if she died. At best, all she could do was help when Stefan fell off the wagon. So, despite the fact that the Lexi I saw in my memories seemed super cool, I decided to pass.

I wasn't here to save everyone.

Although it was a very nice idea in theory, the execution would be extremely difficult— and, as lame as it sounds, I'm inherently lazy. I don't like having to get up and do so much stuff, and considering I already had a sizeable amount of shit to do to just save four people, maybe even just the three, I had no problem not adding anything or anyone more to my plate.

And so, all was quiet for a few days. Went to school, cheer, did the normal teen song and dance.

Bons still hadn't reached out to Grams, and I didn't blame her. We both had very deep-seeded abandonment issues, and Grams had successfully managed to flare up Bonnie's insecurities to the point where I didn't know when they'd actually make up, or if they even would.  


Stefan's birthday bash came and went, Caroline choosing to throw the party at the Grill of her own accord after Damon had mentioned it to her. I hadn't seen Stefan in a while, so I guessed that he was gonna go through with that Twilight plan of 'I'm gonna leave you to keep you safe, even though this town is a breeding ground for supernatural activity and you're a unique human who's constantly in danger.'

Really, it's almost unoriginal how much Twilight resembled this hot mess. Except, I liked Bella a lot more than Elena.

And then, there was Alaric Saltzman.

Badass vampire hunter with an immortal ring who also happened to be a great history teacher. He was also something new that happened over the last couple days, and honestly, I was psyched to have him here. He was super chill in my memories, and I had been super excited to meet the dude.

Unfortunately, I had to take a sick day. Seriously, I was just so tired from the constant run around of the last week that I caught a gnarly fever.

So, now, here I am. Slowly wasting away in Caroline's guest bedroom and waiting for death.

That's actually hilarious if what kills me in this town is a fucking cold.

I smile despite myself and continue to watch A Goofy Movie with a cold rag on my forehead. At least, I _was— _until I heard a knock at the door, very surprised to see one Stefan Salvatore behind Liz Forbes. His warm green eyes appraise me worriedly, and I can't help but wonder how the hell he got an invite in.

_Oh, duh. Caroline._

"Hey, Alessia. You doing okay in here, sweetie? Need anything?" She asks softly, and it softens my opinion of her slightly.

Don't get me wrong, she was a neglectful parent. Never snuck Care any vervain, never tried too hard to get to know her daughter. But, I could respect that she hadn't abandoned Caroline like her dad did; that put her more in the 'impartial' category for me rather than the 'disposable' one.

I nod, grabbing a sip of my water bottle, "I'm fine. I'll probably be all good by tomorrow."

_If my spell works the way I want._

She nods, and turns to gesture to Stefan, "He came over to check on you. Let me know if you guys need anything."

Liz exits the guest bedroom promptly, closing the door behind her as she goes. I turn my attention to the adorable younger Salvatore that I'm still slightly irritated with.

"Aw, Stefan," I sigh, "Come to see me on my death bed?"

He very clearly has to fight off a chuckle, opting for a smile instead, but his eyes are a cacophony of grief. That's saying something if _I _can see it; I'm garbage at reading other people's emotions.

_Of course he is, his best friend died. Maybe talking about it will help him cope. I'm so nice._

"What's wrong, Stefano? You look upset."

Green eyes widen as if I wasn't supposed to notice, before slowly softening as he walks further into the room, sitting on the opposite bottom corner of the bed. As his weight settles on the mattress beside me, he looks down at his hands, broad shoulders slumped, and I don't think I've ever seen a man look so defeated.

_Great, now I feel bad. I can't be mad when I pity him._

"It's been a rough couple days," he replies quietly, "but, I came here for two reasons."

I raise an eyebrow at that.

"Well, the least you can do is look at me while you talk to me," I say teasingly, "I'm _ill._"

Stefan turns, handsome smirk on his face.

"You're right, it was rude of me."

I pat the bed space next to me, inviting him to sit up against the headboard with me, and he does.

Ignoring the increased thumping of my heart, and look at him softly, "Lay it on me. What's got you in a tizzy?"

His pretty green eyes are very deep and very _heartbreaking _and I actually start to regret not getting up and saving Lexi. I could've spared him some pain considering what all was to come.

_No. No time to think like that. _

_The decisions I make are best left as final. If I start heaping guilt onto myself— I won't stop. I'll **spiral**— and I don't have the time or resources to be able to do that._

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry, Alessia."

_Huh?_

Stefan smiles in a self deprecating kinda way, leaning his brownish blondish head back against the headboard.

"You were entirely right about Vicki. I almost _killed _her after I didn't guide her correctly, and you came in and completely stole the show. Fixed all my mistakes. And you didn't even _ask _for anything in return."

I shake my head at his logic, taking another sip of my water bottle.

"Duh, Stefan. I don't need anything from you. No offense."

He chuckles good naturedly, and I can't stop the shivers that go up and down my arms at the sound.

"Of course you don't. You don't need anything from anybody."

With a smile, I playfully hit him on the shoulder, "Nowyou're starting to get it, Stefan."

His gaze shifts in its intensity, and it looks almost affectionate the way forest green eyes nearly become overwhelming.

_How does he even do that? _

A small genuine smile appears, warming Stefan's statuesque face.

"Yeah, I think I am."

The next few moments of eye contact are some of the most intimate moments I've ever shared in my entire life. I feel like he's literally digging and trying to find something in my gaze. It's not only super embarrassing; it feels almost invasive— but, I can't look away.

_Oh god, so **pretty...**_

Quickly steering the subject away from me, I ask, "So, how's Elena?"

And just like that, tension is gone. He looks away, and Alessia can once again take in oxygen to her rapidly dying brain cells.

He glances at 'A Goofy Movie' playing on my tv, taking a deep breath before sighing, "I'm leaving."

There's a sense of finality to what he says.

"Because of the Council? Or..?" I bait.

"Damon. He, uh... killed a good friend of mine a couple days ago, and it's getting too dangerous."

I nod, "Oh, gotcha. You taking Damon with you? Or what?"

"He'll most likely follow. His greatest joy in life is to cause me suffering, and he can't do that if he stays in Ly."

I can't help but roll my eyes a bit, and Stefan looks over at me in question.

"What?"

"I just don't _get _you guys. For two brothers who hate each other so much, you both spend a ton of time together. If I'm honest," I pause, batting away the idea literally with my hand.

"You know what, never mind. My honesty has been exceedingly brutal as of late. Think it's the stress," I awkwardly chuckle, wishing desperately that Stefan would let it go.

"No," Stefan stops my train of thought by grabbing hold of my batting hand, causing my heart to ricochet off into oblivion, and I _know _my face is getting red.

_Oh god, he can **probably** **hear it-**_

_"_Please," he asks so _sweetly_, and I wonder how Elena ever tells him no. _Does she? _

"Blunt honesty would be nice after dealing with Damon's political way of telling the truth, lately," a small warm grin spreads across his cheeks once again, and I can feel myself starting to butter up.

"Ughhh, fine," I groan, giving him a serious look before continuing.

"I don't know if I think you guys actually _can _hate each other. I think you're both very angrywith each other, and you have no good reason to want the other in your life, but, you always end up back together. Like, I think if Damon actually hated you, he'd have killed you by now. My theory is that you've both done so many unforgivable things to each other that even though you both _want _to move on from it, you don't know _how; _so, you both just fuck over each other for eternity."

Stefan Salvatore blinks once. Then, twice. And finally, he bursts out with hearty laughter.

It makes me jump at how abrupt it is, especially since I wasn't trying to be funny, but he keeps going until I start to giggle at the absurdity of it. Unfortunately, this was poor decision making on my part because I start coughing and hacking all over the throw blanket.

He looks over at me worriedly, "Alessia, if you want I can give you some of my blood. It should fix you pretty quickly."

I continue doing that annoying baby cough thing as I try to say, "That's awful.. sweet of you... Stefan. Do you mind?"

Two minutes later, I felt better than I had in a while.

———

_Ugh. Career Night is sincerely just a dick sucking contest for the Founding families._

I walk around with my eyes peeled, waiting for that douchebag newsman to appear so I could properly thank him for shooting me. If I'm honest, I didn't know if I wanted to kill him just yet. But I _did _know that I would be making his brain vessels pop at _least_ three times.

Since he was a new vampire, it'll be an entirely new experience.

_Ew, I'll be popping his proverbial 'magic' cherry._

Tyler suddenly strides over to me, clearly looking an odd combo of frustrated and confused.

"Alessia, I don't know what's wrong with me— but, I feel like decking _every_ loser's face in this _fucking_ hallway."

_Oh yeah, full moon._

I gently take hold of his broad shoulders as his eyes frantically scan the room, "Ty. _Ty. _Look at me."

Black eyes meet mine, and I see the stress and underlying fear in there, fear that he'll actually really hurtsomeone. I give a small comforting smile, starting to rub into his muscular shoulders to release some of the tension.

"Everything's going to be fine, Ty. Just focus on staying _calm_, and taking deep breaths. Find that spot in your mind where everything, and every_one_ is quiet."

He closes his eyes, jaw tight, and inhales deeply.

I breathe with him for several seconds before he opens his pretty dark eyes, infinitely more focused and less manic. My hands slip off his shoulders, instead perching on my hips.

"Does this have anything to do Dickhead Dad being here?" I ask, and from the coldness that settles in his gaze, I know I'm right.

"He's acting like I'm a complete _weakling _because I won't beat up Little Gilbert."

_Wait, that already happened?! Did I space out or something? _

_—OH SHIT, **CAROLINE**!_

"Tyler, this is _extremely _important, have you seen Caroline anywhere?" I ask urgently. _If she had already left..._

"Oh, I saw her walk out just a minute ago, why?"

I don't even bother to answer, just rushing past him and starting to _run__._

_Fuck, fuckity fuck— **Caroline!**_

I'm suddenly pulled back by someone grabbing my arm, and angrily turn to beat the shit out of them when I'm greeted by the worried eyes of Stefan Salvatore.

"Alessia?" He asks quietly, "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, I pull on his arm, trying to drag the supernaturally strong vampire with me as I continue to try and make my way to the nearest exit.

"Call Damon _now. _That bastard has _Caroline," _I growl out, pissed.

He doesn't flinch, he doesn't panic— just nods and lets me pull him.

_Stefan actually trusted my judgement._

And with that, we head outside; the younger Salvatore speeding us both into the night, trailing after a scent to save my blonde best friend.

———

When we arrive on the corner of Elm Street, Damon has already stopped the car and yanked the news reporting bastard out of the car. He pulls out a gun, and shoots Logan Fell in the chest several times with a wolfish grin on his face.

"Payback's a _bitch, _isn't it?"

As I hop off of Stefan's back, very much enjoying the sound of Logan's agonized screams, I rush over to the passenger side and yank it open, heart pounding.

Care has a large gash on her forehead, and is unconscious, leaning against her seatbelt limply.

I immediately feel a large tumble of absolute _fury _roll through my stomach.

Logan's screams turn into one's of utter torture, but I don't really notice. In fact, it kinda feels like I'm floating on the magic I'm feeling rush through my body, kinda like caffeine. I don't see much anymore, just _feel_. I feel nature breathing all around me, I hear the hum of deep within the earth, feel the wind around me bend to my will. It feels _exactly _how it felt when my magic first turned on.

I'm pulled out by a harsh pain against my face.

Blinking hard, I finally see Stefan in front of me, clearly worried.

I quickly look around and see that not only is Caroline safe on the pavement, but the vehicle itself has been flipped over. Unfortunately, the only thing Logan Fell has lost is an arm, which is hanging limply off of a mailbox.

_Whoops._

I turn around and see Damon staring at me, eyes very _wild-_looking, "Take Caroline and you two get the _hell _out of here before the cops show up."

I quickly nod, brushing off my immature and very _emotional _reaction with a sheepish grin.

"My bad. Sorry, about the arm, Fell... Not really."

Said asshole glares back at me bitterly as he continues to bleed onto the street, and it's the last thing I see before me and Care are shoved up over Stefan's broad shoulders and blurred away.

———

**A/n: To clear the air one more time, I'm definitely changing the story, it's just not going to be super noticeable until chapter 18. I love the build-up that I had written up until that point, so that's when the major changes are gonna show up. There's additions scattered through the first 17 chapters, but they aren't going to be the real plot changers.**

**Also, I saw a comment asking if I would be switching POVs for characters. The answer is yes, but it's not gonna be an equal spread. This is still Alessia's POV the majority of the time, but you will be seeing Bonnie, Damon, Stefan, and probably the Originals getting a chapter every now and again.**

**——— **


	14. Fourteen

**Petrichor: **_def. _the scent of fresh rain on dry earth

**———**

**Chapter 14: When Did I Become A Therapist?**

**———**

There was a witch and two vampires all in the boardinghouse, sitting quietly in front of a fireplace. It was like the start of a bad joke. After dropping Caroline off, Stefan took me back here, presumably because I still looked pretty pissed.

_Or, maybe they just like my company._

Probably not.

I guessed that Damon would probably lie about killing Logan Fell, hoping to get further info out of him about Fell's Church and the tomb altogether like in my memories. He'd probably be a very sore loser once he went and found him dead.

But, until then, I sat; both brothers giving me _major_ side eye.

I'll admit, I might've gone a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs earlier, but that was just what happened if you provoked a powerful emotional response from anywitch. Mine was just a little heightened.

I'm _still _not in the best of moods after letting Caroline be taken by that douche nozzle.

Just like Bonnie and the car at Sexy Suds, I was very susceptible to my emotions—specifically, anger— and, I had been somewhat trained on not letting it get the best of me most of the time.

I've had a lot of time to work on my emotional control, while Bons had really only just begun. Bonnie had been showing signs of being stronger than she had been in my memories, which meant that she would also have to really dive into her own control training a lot sooner.

To make a long story short, magic makes your emotions volatile; and the more powerful you are as a witch, the more control it takes not to throw a big ol' messy witch fit every time you feel something strongly.

I, for one, hadn't been quite that angry since Tyler blew out my candles at my fifth birthday party, or even gotten close since Elena asked Matt to Homecoming after Care told her how much she liked him. The latter was a much more messy affair than the former, with a massive storm _suddenly _coming to Mystic Falls the day of Homecoming and completely washing everyone out for the evening.

Anyway, back to me in the study with two vamps.

_Sounds like Clue._

"Wanna tell us what that was all about, Aly Cat?" Damon asks as he crosses his long legs in the chair besides me, "It was very hard to come up with an excuse as to how I had his _arm._"

I narrow my eyes at him, "Don't lie, D. You probably spun it out to make you sound better to the Council."

A small, knowing grin spreads on his darkly handsome face.

"True. Now, spill the beans."

Stefan parks his cute butt over onto the couch across from us, glancing between me and the fireplace with an unreadable expression, and I sigh.

"Look, I'm a possessive person by nature. I don't like people touching or hurting those I've put under my protection. So, being the bratty teen I am, I threw a bit of a fit over seeing Care Bear hurt. Same thing would've happened to you, D, if you had touched any of the Fantastic Four."

Damon smirks at the nickname, but Stefan is confused.

Asking with his big pretty green eyes for me to explain, I finally huff, "Ugh, Stef, no need for the puppy dog eyes. It's just the terms of me and D's business arrangement. I help him with something; he doesn't snack on four people."

Forest eyes grow slightly darker at the explanation, "Only four?"

I shrug, not really caring to explain why my list was so tiny.

With a small smile, I stand up, "So, am I free to go home now, officers? Or do you need more testimony?"

Suddenly, there's a sharp knock on the door.

_Ughh, what now?_

Stefan gets up to answer, and judging by Damon's derisive chuckle, I can guess that once again I've been cornered by my least favorite person in Mystic Falls.

Elena Gilbert strides into the house, clearly a woman on a mission, when her doe eyes narrow harshly at me. She pretty much speed walks over, clearly very angry, and I perk an eyebrow up at Stefan who looks vaguely concerned for the doppelgänger's welfare.

"How _could_ you, Alessia?! Caroline trusted you!" She shouts in my face, and I roll my eyes at her dramatics.

"What the hell are you going on about, Elena?" I sneer, unimpressed by her sudden spine.

God, she truly did manage to suck the enjoyment out of the room. _Profound._

"Aren't you some hot shit witch? How did you not know Caroline was in danger? She's your best friend!"

_What?_

"Gilbert, I'm pretty sure Bonnie has told you that being a witch doesn't make us all-knowing. I didn't knowbecause I'm not an omniscientgod."

She crosses her arms, cocky; clearly thinking that she has a one up on me.

"Bons said she had a vision of the night Mr. Tanner went missing, and that she thought it was a warning."

_Idiot._

"Alright, I'm going to say this once, and then you need to get out of my face before I _give _you something to be pissed about," I threaten, standing up to meet her eye level.

"Not all witches are gifted in the same areas, _Elena. _It's not a copy-paste function that nature spits out. It's a very _snowflake_ experience, there's not one quite like the other. Bonnie's magic is in a trial period to see what _she's _good at, and that's why she's only ever had one vision. This isn't That's So Raven— I can't see into the future."

_Well, that's a complete lie. I just wasn't aware how late it was._

Elena's eyes are still hard on mine, but I can tell that it's mostly because she's not my biggest fan rather than her not believing me.

Her eyes cut to the left at where Damon is sitting, him watching the confrontation with rapt attention and curious amusement. Whether it's at the current argument, my cold attitude towards Doppelena, or the slight look of embarrassment and anger on the latter's face— I'm unsure.

_Well, he's certainly not going to stop a cat fight._

Stefan's hand gently grabs Elena's, slowly pulling her away from my personal bubble.

"I understand you're upset about Caroline, but Alessia is not the one to blame. Logan Fell is the one who tried to hurt Caroline," he corrects gently, as if she won't understand unless the truth is spoon fed to her.

_Maybe she wouldn't. _

In my memories, anytime impactful news that wasn't broken in an easy manner to the doppelgänger, she either ignored it or got extremely emotional about it.

That might be another reason I don't like her very much.

She had her strong moments, but they were almost _always_ at the worst possible time. It was like she aspired to be a 'heroine' cliche, forever protected by two handsome brothers while simultaneously throwing herself into harms way to save everyone else, and also having literally everyone else throw themselves into harms way to stop her.

It's not her fault she's the weakest supernatural occurrence out there, but it should've been more important for her to acknowledge that everyone could and would _die _for her if she wasn't careful.

So is the sway of the charm Petrova doppelgängers carry.

Rolling my eyes, I turn to Damon. I didn't know if Stefan and Elena were going to boink or not, but if they were, I didn't want to be here for it. Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky and Elena won't find Katherine's picture after all I've done to change things. No offense to her, but it wouldn't be convenient for me time-wise.

And by _'wouldn't be convenient,'_ I mean she'd annoy me to high heaven with her clone angst.

"Damon, mind giving me a lift? I'm starving."

Standing up and grabbing his keys, he nods, "Yeah, come on, Aly Cat. Let's go get you a milkshake."

_YAY!!!!_

———

"What the_ hell _are you doing?"

I stop mid-dip into my chocolate milkshake, looking up into offended blue eyes.

"I know you're a vamp and all, but _eating _isn't a foreign concept to you, right?" I ask with a laugh.

Damon pops several of my fries in his mouth to spite me, before gesturing to my chocolate-dipped French fry.

"_That _is a culinary blasphemy."

Rolling my eyes, I point my coated fry at him with a smile uncontrollably spreading across my face, "Don't knock it till you try it, D."

He squints, glancing at me as if he doesn't know whether or not I'm trying to poison him. I raise a challenging brow at him, which earns me an adorable huff partnered with an eye roll before Damon just bites into it straight from my hand.

As the vampire wipes a stray drop of milkshake from the corner of his provocative mouth, he licks it from his thumb. I have to try to make sure my poor little teenage heart doesn't burst in my chest. A cocky grin takes it's rightful place on his face, and I feel a frown working on mine.

"Your little ticker is thumping _awful _hard there, Aly Cat. Don't tell me you have a crush on me?"

"Easy there, cowboy," I reply wryly, dipping another fry and happily noticing that he dips his as well, "After all, we werelovers for like a week. I think I reserve the right to admire."

Damon leans forward, looking intensely into my eyes. I already know I'm blushing so I just glare at him. _How dare he mess around with me! _The nerve.

He grabs my hand as I nervously reach to eat another fry, smirking, "You could do _more _than admire. Try being lovers for real?"

His large hand runs over mine gently before I yank it away.

"I don't think so, D," I smother any nervousness out of my voice out of pride, "You're spoken for, and as cute as you are, I don't need some jealous vampire chick coming to mount me on a pike because I banged her beau."

Damon smirks as if I've issued a challenge, and is about to speak again, when his phone rings.

Looking at the I.D. with annoyance, he answers, "Hello?"

His dark brow furrows as he listens to the other end of the call. "Uh... Not following."

A few more moments.

"What?" He incredulously asks.

After a couple more seconds, Damon looks a bit stunned and a bit frustrated as he hangs up his phone, looking up at me.

"Did you bibidi-bobodi-boo Fell to death?"

I fake a surprised expression, then whisper-yell back, "What? No! I thought you killed him?"

He shrugs his shoulders, waving the waiter over and asking for a double shot of bourbon then turning his attention back to me.

"Well, they found the prick gutted outside the warehouse he tortured me in. Apparently, there's a shit ton of bodies stacked in there."

That puts a wrinkle of distaste on my nose, but I shrug nonetheless, "Ew. But, good riddance."

He looks at me more urgently, a bit annoyed by my nonchalant attitude.

"_No! _Not '_good riddance,'"_ he sneers the last bit with an annoying high pitched voice that I assume is supposed to be me.

_Rude. _

"That _means, _there's someone else who knows about vampires in this town who _isn't _part of the Council," he finishes with a sigh and dramatic rub of his forehead.

My brows furrow for a moment when I remember what was about to befall Elena once she left the boardinghouse. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't _not _care about Elena's potential demise by whoever the hell was obsessed with Katherine, especially since Damon has no reason to be out and about since he didn't need to go to Georgia.

_Ugh. Guess I'll have to fake a 'vision' and get someone to go help her._

"Hey, Day? Not that I'm not completely _enraptured _by your hissy fit over Fell, but I have a bad feeling about something. Mind taking a drive with me to go check it out? I got something special for you if you do."

Damon's handsome face quirks with curiosity before he slaps forty bucks on the table.

"You're lucky I really need a win today."

———

_How have I fallen so far? _

_Throwing myself out there to save the **fucking** doppelgänger. The mighty do fall far, indeed._

As we pulled up the very long Salvatore driveway, lo and behold, Elena's car completely flipped over and smoking. Damon turns on his high beams, trying to get a closer look, and it reveals— in a very spooky way— the hooded vampire who had been approaching her car.

_Ooh, I got chills. _

Damon immediately slams on the brakes, jumping out of the car to go and help her, and I watch the shadowy figure speed off under the cover of darkness. I quickly pull out my phone and dial Stefan, who answers on the second ring.

"Alessia? What is it—," I cut him off.

"Shut up, and run down the driveway. We got problems."

———

Elena is placed on the couch gently by Stefan as I glance at the glass of apple juice I've poured myself.

_This is quickly getting boring. _

Damon is outside trying his best to tidy up the mess Elena's car bits had made. Very grumpily, might I add.

I've just accepted the fact that I'm not going back to Caroline's tonight. They had a shit ton of rooms in this wannabe mansion, and I wasn't trying to get Care in trouble with my dumbass trying to come in at two in the morning.

I quickly shoot her a text to let her know I'm staying and that I'll tell her and Bons what happened later, before turning to face an even more broody than usual Stefan.

"Is it cool if I stay here tonight, Salvatore? You won't even notice I'm here," I ask, not really wanting to dive into the drama of this evening.

He nods resolutely, still looking at the recently healed Elena with guilty eyes, and I sigh before flopping onto the middle of the opposite couch.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume Elena found out about KitKat?"

I get another nod in response, Stefan coming over and sitting to my right with a kicked puppy expression.

_Poor guy. _

"Everything'll be fine Stefan. Elena's a forgiving person to people she likes, and she _definitely _likes you. Hell, she might even love you already, Romeo," I sigh giving him a comforting smile and a light punch on the shoulder, "Just explain everything to her once she wakes up and I'm sure everything will be back to daisies and rainbows."

Green eyes move to look down on the floor, and I hear him exhale out of his nose before looking back up at me, "Things weren't exactly 'daisies and rainbows' before."

Cue eyebrow raise. I knew that they had been taking things slower, and in my opinion, that was better, but I didn't know that things were not _good. _

"What do you mean by that? You guys are literally the talk of the town with that 'star-crossed lover' look in your eyes. People at school think you write her poems and shit. Really, you've upped the standards for dating in this town."

Stefan shrugs, looking all the more tired than before at the topic of his girlfriend.

"Well, first off, she's been pretty consistently upset with me over the last couple weeks. She was mad that I didn't tell her about Damon; then she was mad about not telling her about Katherine; then she was mad that I didn't want to tell her about the supernatural— and with that stellar track record, she's going to be _really _angry that I didn't tell her that about Katherine."

I'm about to interject, but Stefan puts a hand up to stop me, continuing his tirade.

"Elena's mad that I'm friends with you and Caroline. She's really mad that you and Damon have some sort of business deal going on. She's angry that you, Caroline, and Bonnie were all in on the supernatural before she knew. And to spare you another five minutes, she's not happy about the pace of _our_ relationship, either."

_Jesus Christ, that's a lot to be angry about._

"Weird," I hum thoughtfully after a beat or two of silence, a bit shellshocked from the information dump, "Elena's so tiny, I didn't think she could contain so much rage. Oh, but the first half of that could've just not happened if you communicated with her. Like, if it was still only been a few days since you'd met, I'd get why you didn't tell her everything for a bit. But, the rest you probably could've let her know by now."

Stefan nods resolutely, "You're right. I just.. I had no idea _how _to—," he trails off.

"—Tell her she's literally a copy and paste of your ex? Gee, I wonder why," I finish for him, no filter on my snark.

Stefan turns, glaring at me and my smart mouth, and very clearly saying with his pretty green eyes that I'm being unhelpful at best.

"Elena's nothing like Katherine. She's sweet, kind, and loyal."

_You're **kinda** right— but, she's just as manipulative, if not moreso, than Katherine. _

But, then again, I'm a bit biased.

Elena stirs slightly on the couch, and I inwardly groan, praying that Damon comes back in soon so that I don't have to third wheel my generation's Romeo and Juliet. She groans, opening her doe eyes and seeing me and Stefan on the couch. Her eyes suddenly widen significantly as she jumps back against the couch like we're about to attack her.

"Why am I back here, Stefan? And why is Alessia here?!" She groans, her words slurring slightly with drowsiness.

The doppelgänger looks like she's about to have a panic attack already, so I decide to be helpful and wave at her with a grin. Stefan shoots me a disapproving look before raising his hands in a soothing gesture to the doppelgänger.

"It's okay, Elena, everything's fine. You were in a car accident, do you remember anything?" He asks gently, and I take time to note that his voice could be very soothing when he wanted it to be.

"I-I was driving down the driveway," Elena stutters, the gears turning in her head, "Then someone came out in f-front of my car..."

_Vampire douche nozzle._

Her big brown eyes suddenly lock on Stefan fearfully, looking like she's about to vomit.

"You didn't do that to me, right, Stefan?"

_What the hell?_

"No, Elena," I scoff, seeing clearly how deeply hurt Stefan is that Elena thinks he would hurt her. That she thinks he would hurt anyone. What the hell had happened to the dream couple's relationship?

_Bitch._

_"_Me and Damon pulled up and found your car flipped over. Some weird shadow-y dude in a hoodie was your perp. Vampire-sped away and everything," I conclude.

Her brown eyes widen, "But, why would they do that?"

_Probably because you look like his sire._

I shrug my shoulders, glancing back towards the fireplace and thinking. Since this happened, that meant Anna was in town and that I needed to find her as soon as possible.

Not that I really care that Baby Gilbert gets emotionally manipulated— but, she was just a girl who wanted her mother, and that spoke to my numerous abandonment issues.

Snapping my attention back to the room, I realize Elena is asking me a question and I've _completely _missed like half of it.

I blink, before asking, "What was that? I spaced out."

Doppelena glares at me momentarily before repeating, "Why'd you save me? Don't you hate me?"

Hate's a strong word.

After thinking on it for a moment, I surmise, "Had a bad feeling and went with it. I didn't know that it had anything to do with you. Also, I don't _actually _hate you, Elena."

Humminv pensively, I try to find the right way to say it. Quickly giving up on trying to be nice about it, I opt for the blunt route instead.

"Your presence just annoys me to no end," Brown eyes meet mine with a newfound sharpness, but I continue, "I have no desire to do anything to you, I don't want revenge for anything. I just don't like seeing you in my eyeline."

_Like a really annoying fly._

Elena blinks, completely flabbergasted, and I don't know whether it's because I see her more as an annoying neighbor than an actual enemy, or if it's because I actually _genuinely _dislike her without any vehemence behind it. Stefan looks like he doesn't know whether to laugh or whether to get offended on behalf of his girlfriend.

So, I don't give them time to think about it.

Standing up, I walk over to the staircase, with a quick, "Goodnight, lovebirds! I'm exhausted."

I quickly slide into the nearest empty room and pop a squat on the large mattress.

_Jesus, this place is nice. I wonder if they'd let me and Bons move over here. _

Taking off my pants and laying down, I mentally sigh.

_Things are about to get more busy._

———

Blinking awake, I lay there stunned as I see that someone has crawled into my bed. Challenging eyes look back at me, and I roll my eyes.

"Damon Salvatore, what the _hell _are you doing in my bed?"

Beautiful blue eyes flash mischievously.

"Technically, it's _mine._"

———

**_A/n: Hi everyone! Sorry for the hold up, the corona keeps me stressed haha. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!_**

**_———_**


	15. Fifteen

**Selcouth: **_def._ unfamiliar, rare, strange, marvelous, etc.

——— 

**Chapter 15: Hey There, Anna Banana.**

———

I take a sip of my lukewarm coffee as I sit in the car in front of the town library, having already dropped off Care and Bons at the Mystic Grill.

I had to promise to immediately come back after my little errand to explain everything— and honestly, I wasn't looking forward to it. Hell, I'd hurried so fast to try and catch up with Anna that I was still in my practice get-up of a tank top and spandex shorts.

I focus back on the old building.

This place was an interesting sort of aesthetic, the same way the rest of the older parts of this town was. It reeked of a dark history, something just waiting under the seems and I honestly was addicted to it. If only the dark history was not one hundred percent supernaturally based.

That thought also reminds me of what'd happened last night after finding Damon in my bed.

———

"Ugh.. _Damon!_ Couldn't this wait till later..?" I groan groggily, clearly not in the mood for one of his games.

I'm okay with a lot of things, but him fucking with my sleep isn't one of them.

He smirks, then pats my messy copper bedhead like I'm an inconsolable child.

"Aw, Aly Cat, don't be like that! You still owe me a present for going along with your weird 'feeling.'"

Rolling my eyes and yawning, I stand up, squinting in the dark for my phone and finding it on the night stand. Turning on the lamp, I turn and toss the now unlocked phone over to Damon who catches it with one hand, looking at the picture I've pulled up.

"What the hell is this?"

"A few days ago, me and Bons did a locator spell for other powerful magic in town. You said Kat was trapped in a tomb right? Well, _that_ map location is exactlywhere a powerful spell is located. Went to go check it out, but, oddly enough, it's under the old Fell Church. So, I would recommend we go check it out at some point before the spell to make sure everything's groovy."

A bright grin appears on Damon's face as he realizes that he didn't actually _need _Fell's help.

Standing up, he strides over to my very sleep addled self, cupping my cheeks and grinning down at me happily, "God, You're so _useful_, Aly Cat. You're my _favorite _little witch ever."

I smack his hands away as I yawn, "You're full of shit, D. Your favorite witch is whoever can help you most."

Damon's smile doesn't falter as he not-so-subtly checks me out, scanning me from the legs up, and as beautiful as he is, I can't find myself feeling too shy in my tank top and underwear. Sure, my heart is pounding like a racehorse and my cheeks are flushed a bit— but I was wearing a revealing bikini just a few days ago. I'm not nervous about how my body looks, but I _am _nervous about how he's looking at it.

"That makes you my _favorite _of my favorites, then, doesn't it, Alessia?"

_Welp, my bad, heart. He hasn't called me that in a minute and not gonna lie, it feels **great**. _

He moves closer; his tall, muscular frame seeming much more predatory now. Large hands find purchase on my hips, rough thumbs tracing the skin slightly above my waistband as his pretty blue eyes bore into me.

_Pretty, **PRETTY** man. _

_It's just not fair. _

_..._

_Maybe after Kat is gone._

Moving his hands away and stepping out of his bubble, I hop under the covers, "Nope! Not doing that stuff, D. But, if you want a _G_-rated sleepover, that's fine."

Big blue eyes widen with surprise before they roll, but I can see he's deliberating. After a couple moments of looking at me in my blanket burrito, he sighs before taking off his shoes, "You tell _anyone _that we did this, I'm going to _eviscerate _you. Got it?"

_I wonder if he's ever had a sleepover before. Huh, weird._

I smile warmly and nod, finding myself suddenly tossed to the left side of the mattress. Landing with a huff, I'm roughly pulled back over to the right side before I can even get comfy, his bare arms and chest warming my back. Damon's breath is warm against the back of my neck, and while it _does _send shivers rolling down to my happy place, it's also oddly comforting.

His large arms slide over my waist and he pulls me in closer, and it makes me feel kinda sad.

Poor guy, probably hasn't been offered to actually cuddle someone since Katherine— and I don't really know if she's the 'cuddling' type. All the women he's been with were either one night stands, or desperately in love with all the glitz and glamor that is _Damon Salvatore_, so those aren't optional.

The dude needs a BFF.

I smile warmly despite myself, somewhat enjoying being the elder Salvatore's stuffed animal standee for the evening, and soon find myself drifting into dreamland.

———

It had been genuinely _nice _to cuddle with Damon. He was very protective in his sleep, always needing to keep me exceedingly close, otherwise he'd wake up and pull me back to him again. It allowed me to sleep through the night peacefully, and honestly it's been one of the best nights of sleep I've had _ever. _He, of course, pretended like it hadn't happened, but I could tell how much he liked just sleeping next to someone, the adorable bastard.

So, I just hinted that if he ever wanted to have a sleepover again, to let me know. He scoffed before he _thankfully _drove me home before Elena and Stefan got up. I had no idea how the night had gone, but if they _had _made up, I knew I didn't wanna be around for the show.

Once I had gotten home, Bons and Care had a reasonable fit at how little information they'd received over the last twenty four hours, but since school started in thirty minutes, we changed the agreement to confessing later at the Grill. But, most importantly at the moment, I needed to see whether or not Anna would accept my deal to get her mother out of the tomb. The full moon would be coming very soon, and I needed an answer before I went and roasted every vamp in that stupid cave.

Thankfully, we still had Emily's talisman. With that, me and Bons wouldn't _need _Grams to help, and her little feeble body wouldn't die on us. In fact, I should probably run by the witches house one more time to make sure my intentions are clear, because, I swear to god if I feel any kind of _push _from the Other Side, I'm burning all of her shit to the ground. Her and the rest of the family could find somewhere else to be a nuisance.

Finally, I see little Gilbert approach the library, and soon after entering, a telltale black curly head followed behind. Hopping out of the car, I grab my hoodie and toss it on before walking out to the library.

_Let's hope this works out._

_———_

By the time I find them, they've adorably bumped heads like in a romcom, and honestly I find it pretty cute but I'm on a mission.

"Anna? Is that you?" I ask, blinking in false surprise.

Her pretty black eyes look up and blink at me in confusion, then suspicion. I walk over to hug her like she's an old friend and she hesitantly opens her arms, trying to not let Jeremy know she doesn't _know _me.

As soon as I pull her close, I whisper into her hair, "I've got a deal for you. Meet me in the Science Fiction section in five minutes."

Then, I quickly change my tone and give her a warm smile as we separate, "I can't _believe _you're here! I'll have to talk to you later though, big project due."

And with that, I promptly flounce over to the science fiction section, pulling out a cherry lollipop I got from answering a question correctly in Ric's class.

_What a cool dude._

After waiting a few minutes, Anna struts towards me, eyes all mean and business-like, looking much more mature than she did with Baby Gilbert. I smile at her, pulling the lollipop from my mouth.

"Hiya, Anna Banana. My name is Alessia Bennett, and boy, do I got a _great _deal for you."

Her dark brow raises, "I'm aware. If you don't hurry and spill it, I'll rip your throat out."

I blink tiredly, "Ugh, don't be predictable vamp. No one likes them. Anyway, my deal involves me getting your mom out of the tomb at the next full moon. I'm opening it anyway for another guy, and I don't mind letting you grab your mom as well."

Her eyes slightly widen, clearly stunned that I'm being so 'cut and dry', before the suspicion edges in again.

"And what _exactly_ do you want in return?" She sneers.

I shrug my shoulders, "Long story short, things are about to get very spooky in this town. If I call you or your mother for help, I want you both to respond promptly and be here by my side. It's only good for one call, and you guys can totally stay in Mystic Falls if you want. Wouldn't really recommend it though. Also, I'm not sparing any other vamps in there. The rest _will _die after I open it, it's up to you whether your mom is part of the death toll."

Her brows furrow slightly, but she looks slightly less suspicious and more hopeful, "That's it?"

"That's it."

She gives me a quick half grin, relief painting her features, "You got yourself a deal, Bennett."

_Everything is coming up Lessy._

_———_

_Everything is NOT coming up Lessy._

Care and Bonnie are already glaring at me the second I walk in the Grill, and when I sit down, they don't say a _word. _

"_Guys,"_ I whine, "I already said I was sorry! I didn't make any big decisions without you guys, I promise."

"Alessia _Marie _Maddox," Caroline scolds heatedly— and I know I'm in trouble when she uses my full name.

"You should've called one of us if you were going to be out all night! A text can be sent by _anyone _who has your phone!"

_That.. is a really good point._

"Not to _mention," _Bonnie adds, clearly not enthused, "You didn't even call later on to let us know what all had happened! We can't afford to wait thirty six hours for pertinent information!"

I quirk my brow at that, "Wait. Elena didn't tell you anything, Bons?"

Her green eyes grow much more worried.

"No! Why? Did something happen to her?"

_Yikes. If Bons isn't happy with me, she's **really** not gonna be happy with Doppelena._

"Okay, first, lower your voices. Second, don't interrupt me till I'm finished giving you the deets," I quickly say, wanting to get through this in one take.

They both nod vigorously, and I sigh as a waiter approaches, quickly ordering a burger before turning back to the rest of the war council.

"Okay, so, after saving Bons from Logan Fell, me and Damon left the house to eat. I had a bad feeling," I glance over at Bonnie and she nods in understanding, "So, I had Damon drive us back to the boardinghouse, and boom! Elena's car is flipped over on their long ass drive way."

They both gasp, but I hold my hand up to tell them to wait till I'm done.

"She's fine, me and D pulled her out. Besides that, there was a vampire in a hood who ran for the cover of darkness when me and Damon pulled up, he apparently stood in the middle of the road and Elena flipped trying to avoid him. Anyhoo, rescued her, brought her to the house, got the hot gossip on Stefan and Elena, then I went to bed. Woke up, Damon's in my bed asking for what I offered him for driving us over there, so I tell him about the Church. Today, I went to talk to a girl who's trying to get her mom out of the tomb, struck a deal up with her."

Bonnie's eyebrows raise, "Wait, I thought we were burning them all."

I look down at the table before crossing my arms, suddenly a bit cold, "We _are _Bonnie, the _rest _of them. That girl just wants her mom back, and I'd feel awful if I took that away from her."

Bons nods in understanding, completely getting where my issues are coming from, and I turn to check on my favorite blonde hurricane who's been unnaturally quiet.

She pouts before angrily saying, "You glossed over the juicy stuff!! Like Damon Salvatore being _in your bed?? _Not to mention, you forgot to spill the Stelena drama!! You _know _this is what I live for!"

Rolling my eyes, I sigh, glad that my burger has just arrived and planning not to answer until Care snatches my food away. "

"_Hey!_" I yell at her, and she just smiles evilly at me.

"Drama, first. _Then, _food."

Ugh, I was wrong. I hate her.

"FINE. Damon's been trying to get in my pants as of late, but I'm not trying to deal with his angry vampire lover once she's out of the tomb. So _no, _Caroline, don't even think about trying to encourage that. As for Stefan and Elena..." I wince just thinking about what Stefan told me.

Bons sighs, folding her hands together thoughtfully.

"I should've known Elena wasn't telling the truth about them. She's just so desperate for everything to go back to being perfect."

Nodding, I glance up at Bonnie, "You're right. But let's not pretend that's a good mental state to be in for a relationship. Stefan is awful pretty, but he's _**not** _a perfect guy. If Elena is looking for a Prince Charming to save her, she's looking in the wrong direction. That's _Matt."_

Caroline's thin blonde brows furrow, "Yeah, but what do you mean by—," she mimics my 'yikes' face.

"Basically, Stefan and her do _not _have the best communication skills, and Elena is pretty pissed about it," I hum, leaning as the gossip spills off my tongue, "Actually she's pissed off about a _lot _of things. Some of which pertain to you and me, Care Bear. That's why she was driving away from the Salvatore house in the first place. She found out that she's a carbon copy of his ex, Katherine."

Both Bonnie and Caroline both choke, either on the air or on their words, and Caroline is the first one to pull a mutual 'yikes' face with Bons quickly following.

"_Oof," _we all sigh before turning back to our food.

———

I finish the last bite of my burger before glancing up at Bons.

"You know the ritual is this next full moon, right? If you've got any plans, cancel them."

She nods, tossing her last bite of salad into her mouth, "_Duh_. I'm ready whenever you and Damon are."

_Oh shit! That reminds me—_

"Also— Care, Bons, I want to ask if we can do something together," I quickly add, and they both blink up at me, Caroline wiping her mouth with her napkin before paying me close attention.

"I want to link our lives together. If we're linked and one of you gets hurt, I can heal you relatively quickly from my end, or, _god forbid_, if one of us dies, it'll be _much _easier to bring you back. As long as two out of the three of us are okay, the one who's dead won't _stay_ gone. I don't like thinking along these lines, but with all that's going on right now, it'd be dumb not to plan for the worst scenario."

Bons quickly nods, while Caroline looks down at the table.

"Is that _safe_ for you guys?" She asks softly, "I mean, I'm the weak human in this group, wouldn't I be a constant way of making you weaker? Also, would you guys get _any _injury that I got?"

_Swear to god, most sweethearted person on the planet._

She's not wrong. If any of us are injured significantly, it'll weaken the others as well, just not as badly.

Bonnie shakes her pretty brown head, "No, this would more than likely be a spiritual connection rather than a physical one. Physical ones are generally used for protection for only _one _of the parties involved. Also, if one of us went missing, it'd make it easier for the other two to locate the one with a spiritual connection."

Pointing my fry at Bons, I smile proudly at the evidence of her studying, "_Exactly. _Ten points to Hufflepuff."

She smirks back smugly as Care nods her head in agreement.

"I'll trust whatever the twitches think is best."

_Huh._

"Wait," I thoughtfully add, "Me and Bonnie aren't twins. What would we actually be called? _Sitches?_"

Bonnie looks pensive, "Sis-witches?"

Care adds seriously, "_Witchers?"_

We all deliberate for a moment longer before giving up.

_Twitches is more catchy anyway._

_———_

Raising my phone to my ear, I playfully answer, "This is Alessia, the Great Big Witch Bitch. How can I help you, Stefan?"

I hear a deep inhale and sigh from the other end, and I quickly get serious.

"Stef? What's wrong?"

A couple moments of silence pass before he answers, "I told her. I told her _everything._"

My eyebrows raise, trying to capture the tone of genuine surprise, "What do you mean by _everything?_"

More moments pass before he sighs again.

"I told Elena she was adopted."

I blink once, then twice.

_"Damn, _Stefan. Way to open up the channels of truth. I think it was a good idea. She deserved to know."

"You don't sound surprised?" He asks, clearly confused by my tone.

"Well, Stefan, I knew that Katherine's last name was Pierce and that she looks like Elena. Clearly the only Pierce in town during your lifetime was Katherine, and she was a vamp _and _not playing with the Gilberts. It's just logical conjecture, Stefan."

_My lying skills are getting a bit too good._

Stefan chuckles a bit, before pausing, "Could you.. maybe come over? Sorry, it's just... You remind me a lot of Lexi, and I could really use some advice."

_Poor baby Salvatore, I wish I could._

"I'm a bit occupied at the moment," I quickly say into the phone as I approach my destination, "How about I come over later tonight?"

"Oh, that's fine. What are you doing anyway?"

Smirking, I turn to face the old witch house, holding a jerrycan of gasoline.

"Oh, you know. Just visiting some family."

———

**_A/n: Hey all! Much love to you and those you care about in these troubling times!_**

**_——-_**


	16. Sixteen

**Willowwacks**: _def. _a wooded, uninhabited area

———

**Chapter 16: No One _Really_ Likes the Fifties.**

———

I kick down the rotted wooden door, opening the jerrycan and running a line of gasoline down the hallway.

"Oh, _Emily!_" I call out, my brows furrowing momentarily before adding, "And any other witch ghost in this shack!"

Emily appears abruptly, clearly upset judging by the stark wrinkles between her thin, dark brows.

"What are you _doing_, child?!"

"Oh, calm down," I shout, racing through the house to try and make sure I've doused enough wood before stopping and killing off the rest of the can in the living room-looking area.

_Who knows what room this is? This place is old as dirt. _

"This is just insurance," I sigh out, trying to catch my breath.

Emily appears in front of me once again, and I pause momentarily to wonder if she's the spirit representative for our family. To be honest, if that's the case, I'm glad it's her and not Qetsiyah. She'd be an _entirely_ different type of monster to deal with, and most likely not this easily bullied.

"This is my way of letting you know that I'm completely serious about my threat. If I even feel you _brush _up against the veil when me and Bons use that ugly necklace, I _will _come back and burn this shit to the ground."

Emily's dark eyes harden, clearly not fond of the threat.

Or maybe it was that I called the talisman ugly.

"And, what if we killed you right now, child? You know not the forces you're dealing with."

I turn to face her completely, face blank, hand resting on my hip.

"Trust me when I say that my death will _not _be permanent," My eyes are hard and honest on her dark ones, "Sure, I'll probably bother you and the other witches for a little bit— might even see how the OG witch is doing— but, I'm not staying on the Other Side for long."

Pausing, I then purposefully glance around the room, playfully adding, "And _then _I'll burn this grimy little mud hut you all call home to the ground. Or, hell, Bons might do it herself if she finds I'm MIA."

Her hands are folded tightly together on her old dress, and I can tell by the look of intense deliberation on her face that it was a good idea to reaffirm my threat.

_This bitch was definitely going to try to destroy the talisman anyway._

I'd be a bit less annoyed by that prospect if she had at least _acted _like she wouldn't. Really, it's just plain insulting.

Emily's pretty brown face proceeds to smile softly, seemingly looking at me in a different light.

"You're _truly _going to kill the rest of the tomb vampires?"

I pause momentarily about how I'm going to answer this. If Emily _really _was planning on taking me on, she'd probably get one of her flying monkeys to keep an eye on me. And if _that _was the case, she was just testing to see if I would lie about Anna and give them full reason not to trust me.

_See, now that's the kind of sneakiness I can respect._

"There's a girl vamp," I start, and I can see Emily's brown eyes widen momentarily at my admission.

"She just wants her mother. If they end up becoming a threat, I'll take care of it after, but the rest are going to burn down there."

Emily continues to stare at me, still surprised that I was honest and that she couldn't use a lie against me, before slowly focusing her gaze once again.

"I see. We will not interfere. However, should you break your bond.."

Waving my hand dismissively I walk over to the front door, "Blah blah, death threat, blah blah, I got shit to do. Bye, Emily!"

I left without looking back.

—

After that, I promptly drove down to ye olde Salvatore boardinghouse. Not knocking because I'm sure that they can both hear me approaching, I whisper a spell to open the door for me and promptly go inside.

"Stefano!" I call out, setting my bag on their coat rack, "Your therapist is here!"

Both brothers suddenly flash in front of me along with a gust of wind, Damon with his typical shit-eating grin on his face, and Stefan looking quite broody. God, these boys need more moods outside of 'mischievously flirtatious' and "exceedingly depressed'.

They're lucky they look so good doing it, otherwise it'd come off as a bit predictable.

Stefan's forest green eyes are very obvious in their misery. He looks like he called me here to stake him rather than just to talk. The elder Salvatore, on the other hand, is clearly bemused, probably overhearing the couples' discussion prior and loving it.

"Hey there, Aly Cat," Damon greets cheerfully, quickly throwing his muscular arm over my shoulder and raising a mocking dark brow at Stefan, "I'm gonna guess you're here to be Stef's emotional support witch?"

Nodding, I push off the handsome vampire's arm.

"Basically. You guys got anything a human could eat? I'm starved," I ask, pushing my way past the two of them to head to the kitchen, for hopefully something decent to munch on while I sit with Stefan.

Damon has already vamp sped into the kitchen by the time I get in, and I can't help but be a little awestruck at how pretty this kitchen is. Marble countertops, pretty wood paneling, and enough kitchen accessories to make me think that Zach could've made for a great interior designer if he wasn't dead.

The blue eyed vampire whips out an apron that says 'Kiss the Cook', securely tying it around his waist as I try to stifle a laugh. Stefan enters, the now more prominent wrinkle between his brows is enough visual information for me to tell that he's not particularly happy about Damon interrupting his appointment, and I can't help but laugh lightly at it.

Damon raises his handsome brow up at me as he pulls out several pans, "Something funny over there, gorgeous?"

Ignoring the compliment so I don't blush, I shake my head, "Nah, just thought about something funny."

He brushes it off with another eyebrow raise, turning to the fridge as Stefan pops a squat on the bar stool next to me.

"Are you vegetarian or anything like that?" He asks as his pretty blue eyes scan the limited supply within the refrigerator.

I shake my head, and he proceeds to grab milk, cheese, flour, pasta, and a bunch of seasonings that I can't see from this angle, sighing, "Mac and cheese, it is."

Wow. What a fantasy come true.

Like seriously, a hot guy making me food could be considered a kink of mine, and I felt my stomach warming at seeing the beautiful vamp in front of me doing so. I quickly snap myself out of it, of course, since as of right now this is an emotionally unavailable pretty boy.

Instead, I turn over to the sad pretty boy on my left who's staring hard at the granite countertop in thought.

"Alright," I sigh, resting my head in my hand as I look at Stefan Salvatore's flawless profile, "Lay it on me, how are you doing after that hot mess?"

Shaking his dirty blond hair out like I've asked a stupid question, and maybe I have, he turns his sad emerald gaze to my brown one.

"Things are not good. At this point, I'm scared I'm going to lose her in the constant rollercoaster that seems to be this relationship."

Damon sets a glass of water in front of me, and I gratefully accept it, before asking Stefan, "Was it this hard with Katherine?"

I can see Damon's shoulders stiffen slightly, but if he wants to snoop in on me and Stefan's convo under the guise of giving me food, I don't need to be careful of his feelings on the matter.

Stefan shrugs, "It was definitely hard, and of course, I was under compulsion for certain parts of it, but it wasn't near as stressful. I was never scared that Katherine was going to leave. She didn't want to let go of either of us, ever."

Nodding, I take a sip of my water.

"Look, Stefan. I'm going to be honest with you," I start, looking him in the eye with a degree of seriousness I don't often express. "Elena is a seventeen year-old girl. The only real relationship she's ever had was with Matt, and she didn't really want him, she just liked that he wanted her and decided to give it a shot.

"What I'm saying is, she's nowhere near as emotionally mature as Katherine was-slash-is, so you're going to have to accept that her little fits are going to happen as the curveballs keep coming. At least until she gets a good head on her shoulders, anyway."

Damon glances over at me as I finish talking, adding flour to the bit of milk he had in the heated pan, expression unreadable.

"You're seventeen, too, Bennett. And yet, here you are giving a therapy session to a one hundred seventy-one year-old vampire, and doing business with his more attractive older brother."

Shrugging nonchalantly, I look back up into Damon's blue gaze.

"People mature in one of two ways: over time, or after experience. I happen to be in the latter category. Elena's a normal teenage girl— outside of looking like KitKat, anyway— so, she can afford to be childish. I can't."

It was true.

I might've been born with more information in my little infant skull than most people, but I hadn't been able to enjoy being a kid very much. Whether it was martial arts, cheerleading, or learning to be a true badass witch, everything that I've done in my life so far was to prepare for right now. Sure, it was kinda fun learning all this, but I've never done anything just for the sake of it being a good time in my entire life. Instead, I was more like a little soldier than a child.

How _tragic._

Stefan is looking at me intently, scanning me as if he had never thought about it like that.

Which is weird considering he's been watching Elena all these months. After such stalker-y dedication, you'd think he would've at least noticed that much about her.

Glancing back down to the granite, Stefan starts looking rather pensive. At least he did until he suddenly turned back to me, a certain thoughtfulness in his gaze.

"That must've been really hard for you, Alessia."

Wait, what?

Damon lets out a sigh as he stirs his other pot of bubbling pasta, "You're doing an awful lot of grown up stuff considering you're just a baby."

Rolling my caramel eyes, I glare at Damon, before smirking.

"You're the one trying to get in this baby's panties."

Ew.

Stefan's green eyes grow comically wide.

"_What?"_

Damon rolls his eyes at Stefan's offended tone, "Oh shut up, Clark Kent. Your little girlfriend is the same age, I don't want to hear shit from you."

Dinner at the Salvatores had been relatively peaceful after that, and I drove home after, knowing that tomorrow I would be threatening another person if my timeline guess was correct.

Oh god, is this going to become a regular thing?

I think about this whole mess as I close my eyes, slipping off into a peaceful rest.

———

As I walk into the Grill, my eyes narrow in annoyance as I see that prick, Ben, flirting with Bons.

So, Anna was still going to go with the plan of kidnapping Elena to get the Salvatores to pass up the grimoire.

How perfectly irritating.

Honestly, I would be able to respect the hustle if they hadn't chosen my sister as bait. This jackoff was going to make Bonnie feel like she was special, then go home to that musty motel and probably bang Anna.

Ew.

They both separate as Bons gives him a warm smile, and I promptly start my walk over to the boy once she's out of my eye-line. He stands behind the bar before giving me a warm but slightly-strained smile. _What a terrible pretender,_ I think as I slide onto the barstool.

"Hi there, Alessia. How can I help you?" He asks warmly, and I smile back.

"Can I get your sirloin and eggs with a cup of coffee? Medium rare and sunny side up, please."

He efficiently jots my order down, and I glance around the Grill one more time to make sure I picked a more isolated area. Check.

Glancing down at my phone as I wait for him to come back, I see a text from both Bons and Caroline.

—

**From:** Bons

**Msg:** I JUST SAW BEN!!

—

**From:** Care Bear

**Msg: **Did Bon txt u about Hang Ten Ben???

—

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. When we were all in Mystic Falls Elementary together, he faked that he was a pro-surfer for like a year.

Weird times.

Ben comes back with my order, along with a napkin with my silverware, and I smile happily at him.

"How've you been, Ben? Is graduated life treating you well?" I ask with an adorable tilt of my head.

He nods, "Yeah, it's been a hard transition, but a rewarding one."

Oh, well, _there's_ a double meaning if I've ever heard one.

"Yeah, I saw you with Bons earlier. I bet it's good to see everyone again," I sigh, reaching to unroll my napkin wrap of utensils as Ben leans forward across the bar towards me, dark eyes flirtatious.

"You're not jealous, are you?" He asks in a deeper voice that I'm guessing should be seductive, but once you hang out with two god-like specimens on a regular basis, normal boys just aren't as intimidating.

I glance up at him, smile still on my pretty pink lips as I grab the steak knife out of the napkin and promptly stab it through his hand into the bar. Ben gasps quietly in pain, but no one turns and notices. He struggles to maintain a look of normality as I twist the knife hard, causing him to halt a yell with a cough.

"Listen, you little _shit_," I whisper menacingly, smile still glued to my cheeks, and I thoroughly enjoy his dark eyes widening in shock and pain.

"Tell Anna to keep her grubby little hands away from my sister. And while she's at it, you can, too. I'm not afraid to leave her mom's corpse burning in that cave with the rest of them if you both wanna play it this way."

He glares hard at me, veins starting to appear underneath his eyes, "You have _no_ idea who you're messing with. We'll eat you up and spit you out."

I lean forward, caramel gaze unflinching, and anyone else watching would think I was sharing a secret with him.

"I would love to see you try, Baby Drac. I'll blow your body parts all over this goddamn bar," I say mock cheerfully, yanking out the knife with a twist and watching him grimace in pain.

Pushing the plate forward, I reach in my purse and pull out a twenty, dropping it on the plate of food as I stand up.

Smiling like that was the end to a rather convo, I call back, "Great to see ya again, Ben. Tell Anna to text me!"

I can feel his spiteful glare on my back as I leave, and I just hope that I've made my point very clear. I didn't really want to kill them, but if I had to for Bons, I would.

———

I flatten my poodle skirt down, tugging on a corner that had snagged on the puffy fabric underneath before glancing to the driver's side at my handsome vampire 'date.'

Ugh, of course Elena got attacked again. I forgot about that other creepy vamp.

He wasn't actually my problem after all— he was Elena's and Anna's.

"Damon, sweetie? No offense— but, why am I here?" I ask, quickly disliking when blue eyes meet mine in a way that spells trouble.

"Well, Aly Cat— Elena has a vamp problem, so we _all_ have one. The guy has an all-access pass to the Gilbert buffet, so we're luring him out and taking care of it before it becomes a problem," he sighs, slowly taking a sip from his blood bag like a tired drunkard sips a beer.

I pull down the visor, using the moonlight to reapply my ruby red lipstick and make sure my bronze curls have stayed in the big ass pink bow I put them in.

Excellent.

"And, what exactly does that have to do with me, D?"

Damon glances at me briefly before firing back, "Aw, don't you like spending time with me? I am your fake boyfriend, after all."

"Ex," I correct with a small smile, "We stopped doing that last week, remember?"

He pauses thoughtfully, then nods, continuing to drive in silence without actually answering my question.

Weird dude.

But, _hot_ weird dude— so I'll forgive.

———

The dance is, of course, flawless.

Caroline was a genuine miracle worker with planning all of the events, I knew from how much she complained about it that the student council budget was less than stellar. All these founding families were definitely more talk than walk considering they were the main donors.

Damon links my arm through his, placing my hand on his hard bicep firmly, and smirking at the blush it produced.

_Douchebag._

A quick glance around the room shows me most of the familiar heads of my friends, short Care and Bons. Glancing a bit harder, I finally spot them over by the far corner beverage table. Stepping to walk towards them, my body is suddenly swiftly twirled, and I find myself pulled much closer to Damon's side.

He bends down to my ear, and I can hear him smirking at my raised heartbeat as he whispers, "Not so fast. You can have your social time after we take care of Elena's stalker."

I huff, but willingly walk along side him as he spots Stefan and Elena. Pulling up to the couple, I can very clearly feel a tension between the two. Stefan looks frustrated and kinda sad, and Doppelena looks absolutely livid.

I make a low whistle as we approach, and I hear Damon chuckle softly.

Oh, I get it. He heard whatever happened over here and wanted to get in on the action.

Again, _douchebag._

Damon is all smiles as we all four make our way through the crowd to find a place to stand and chat battle strategy. Finding a spot beneath the many swirling color lights was a bit harder than I thought it'd be, but these dances were always way more packed than they should've been. Seriously, they just always let anybody come in here. It's how there was always spiked punch at every single one of these dances.

And it was also how it was going to be difficult to find the guy. I had a very, very brief memory of the perp, and honestly, he wasn't even cute enough to warrant really remembering the face.

Stelena suddenly splits apart, Elena storming off towards Care and Bons as Stefan just stands there looking stunned. I hear Damon choke on a laugh and elbow him lightly in the stomach.

_Time and place, dude._

When Stefan finally turns around, the pain in his eyes is alarming, and I'm suddenly hit with the thought that if this is how Stefan looks when he's hurt.. what's Damon gonna look like, in person, when his heart breaks?

That's going to be a painful expression to witness.

Oh god, when did I start to care?

———

**A/n: Hello everyone! I'm sorry if things look weird this chapter, but something changed with the keyboard as I was writing it, so I had to make some adjustments. I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway!**

**———**


	17. Seventeen

**Dormiveglia: **_def. _the space that stretches between sleeping and waking

———

**Chapter 17: Well, That Was Unexpected.**

———

Stefan gazes after Elena like a wounded puppy, still hurt and shocked, and I can't help but wonder what the _hell_ the doppelgänger had said to make him look like that.

I slowly place my hand on his shoulder, making him shake out of his stupor, instead just looking like he's in pain.

"You okay, Stef?" I ask, trying to sound gentle, but the loud music makes it nearly impossible.

_Graceful, Lessy. _

He brushes me off, instead turning to Damon, and I pull my hand away from his shoulder, a bit bristled but not necessarily hurt.

_Okay, _I think to myself, _clearly __too soon._

Damon is about to start in on his 'Damon-the-Dick' role, and I tune their thinly-veiled jabs to each other out as I look over at Elena with the rest of the war council. Caroline is looking thoroughly done with whatever the fuming doppelgänger is spewing, looking around the room for an escape, finding one in Matt, and promptly exiting the scene.

Bons, on the other hand, looks bored_. _

She's paying attention to what Doppelena is saying, but not really registering it, and it shows in the glazed over look her olive eyes take. Elena doesn't notice though, still prattling on, and I take a moment to notice that Stefan's strong hands tighten into fists at whatever he's hearing her say.

_Man, the gossip is JUICY, and I'm the only one left out!_

How frustrating. Oh wait— I could just listen to whatever insults the brothers are bouncing off of each other. Without looking at them, I tune in to the Salvatore salt contest.

"Well, Elena's keeping you on a pretty tight leash. '_No talking to Alessia when I'm not there!'__" _Damon snarls, his tone positive and scathing, with a side of mockery.

_The gossip mill is churning **hard** tonight._

"Elena is young. She's going to be prone to jealousy. If only Katherine had the same problem, then maybe you would understand. _Oh__, wait,_" is Stefan's snarky retort, and I can see Damon in my peripheral shaking off the jab.

I turn to face them, taking my name as an entrance into the conversation with a raised brow, "What's this about 'no talking to Alessia?' I might go have a word with Elena on why that's not optional."

I have no desire to keep the doppelgänger safe for the long term, but Klaus is gonna need some clone to drain like a Capri-Sun, so, until that happens, I'll help the cause.

Stefan's pretty green eyes widen, and he shakes his head worriedly.

"No offense, Alessia, but you saying it is just gonna make it worse."

_**Rude.**_

Damon sees my brow furrow at Stefan's wording— as if her being mad at him was _my _fault— and, surprisingly comes to his brother's rescue.

Wrapping an arm around my waist and tugging me to his side, Damon smirks down at me playfully, "Aw, it's not personal, Aly Cat. Remember what you said about Elena's maturity? Besides, Stefan's forgotten to mention that we actually _need _your help for the time being, so Elena can keep her panties in a twist for all we care."

_True._

"What do you mean by '_what she said about my maturity_?'" I hear a voice ask over my shoulder, and I sigh audibly.

Of course Damon wasn't _actually_ being nice.

He just wanted to stir the pot.

Dickhead.

Turning, I get to see my least favorite Mystic Falls resident glaring up at me with narrowed doe eyes. So, what do I do in the face of this obvious accusation? What I always do. Get bored.

"You're immature. It's not a bad thing, you're a teenager, but it's something that needed to be acknowledged by all supernatural parties so we can properly make sure you don't _die,_" I groan out, already done with the conversation as it's started, and maybe just done with the evening, in general.

If I had known that coming as Damon's date meant sticking by his side— and, therefore _Stelena's— _till we found the stalker, without being able to really talk to Bons and Care in between, I would've brought a magazine or something. Or homework. Really, anything is more appealing than this.

Doppelena is fuming in front of me, brown eyes hard.

"I'm not immature, _Alessia. _I just lost my parents. I'm trying to take care of Jeremy, and trying to move on with my life."

"I'm aware," I retort with a roll of my eyes, and I feel my heartbeat jump as Damon squeezes my waist, but I ignore it out of pride, "Too bad that doesn't have shit to do with what I said."

"_Oh,"_ she replies with an angry smile, like the cat who caught the canary, "_Yes._ Let's all bow down to the mighty Alessia, the girl who's better than _everybody_ else."

"Well, I didn't say that— you did,"

Smirking, I glance up at his pretty blue eyes that are shining mischievously down at me.

"I know right? I'm not nearly as mean as I could be, but, meh, c'est la vie, or whatever."

With a sigh, Damon nods, before turning to Elena with a slightly annoyed look on his face, "Aly is here to help protect you as a favor to me. Restrain those judge-y little eyes until you can protect yourself from a supernatural threat, or you get a boyfriend who isn't on the bunny diet."

_Well, that's surprising. _

Blinking owlishly, I'm honestly stunned that he came to my defense there. Didn't expect Damon to, but hey, that might mean he actually genuinely enjoys being around me. _So sweet. _

"You should dance with me," he suddenly says, and I shake my head at his antics, trying not to laugh at Elena's flabbergasted face.

"Is that how you southern boys were taught to ask a girl to dance?" I sassily reply, and I see a glimmer of _something _flash in those ice blue eyes, before a winning smirk appears on his chiseled jaw.

Damon's hand moves down from my waist to grab my hand, bowing in a ridiculously old-fashioned way that makes me smile, and I curtsy in return with a giggle. The moment he's stood back up fully, the elder Salvatore is pulling me out to the dance floor through the crowds. Turning back, I wave nonchalantly at Elena's angry expression, before turning to smile at Stefan, but I pause when I see the look on his eyes.

He looks stunned. Not in a bad way, but enough to snap him out of whatever funk he was in prior. Green eyes are piercing, and I feel like he's burrowing for some kind of answer.

I can't help but wonder what the question was.

*

I was learning a lot of new things tonight. The really cool thing about going to these decade dances with a vampire, was that he was _there _when the decade happened, and honestly I was so curious what it was like. Of course, I wasn't dumb. I would've _never _wanted to live through the 1900s as a feminist black woman, but that didn't mean that I wasn't curious about a first hand account.

"So, you were friends with James Dean?" I ask, not really in disbelief, but it was pretty surreal to think about.

"_Totally,_" he replies cockily, shaking his hips along to the music, "Really fun guy, just wanted to party. Oh, but to clear up the debate, the guy was gay. He was just born at the wrong time to be a famous gay. Would've loved the 2000s, and probably the eighties, too."

Still dancing, I do a quick twirl as he lifts our linked hands.

"He sounds fun! Wish I could've met him!" I yell over the music. Damon smiles fondly at me, and I smile back. Honestly, I hadn't had _this _much fun at a dance in forever and was feeling pretty giddy as the song ends.

'Sleep Walk' by Santo and Johnny starts up, and the lights all dim to soft purples and blues. Damon pulls me closer, and I sigh a bit when my hands trace his shoulders and link around his neck. His large hands find purchase on my hips, being a perfect gentleman, and I lean against his chest.

"You know," he mutters into my ear, and I shiver, "this is the _second _time we've danced like this, Aly Cat. You're sending _awfully _mixed messages."

Pulling back slightly, I look him in the eye, my expression as honest as I can possibly make it.

"Then I'll make it clear. We aren't _doing_ anything. This is harmless flirting, and I don't wanna mess around and get my heart _ripped out_. When you get your lover out of the tomb and ride off into the sunset, you'll forget all about the pretty Bennett in Mystic Falls."

_I'm getting too good at lying to people. _It's starting to leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

His ice blue eyes are boring into mine with renewed fervor, his expression still unreadable as we continue to sway. Damon smirks, but doesn't say anything else, maybe in acknowledgement that I'm right. And as the song finishes, he lets me go.

A head of long black hair catches my eye, and I pat Damon on the shoulder to brush off the awkward tension. "See ya later, cupcake. I got something I need to take care of real quick."

Damon looks like he's about to say something, his dark brows furrowed in confusion, but I quickly brush past him and make my way over to Anna. It's easier said then done however, and the crowd is slowing me down significantly.

"Hey there, Anna Banana," I call out, and I can hear her sigh over the music, so it must've been pretty loud.

Turning as I finally get past the crowd and over to the drink table, the pretty vamp glares at me, soft brown eyes narrowing.

"What do you want, Bennett? I got your message loud and clear."

Walking closer, I reach behind her to get some spiked punch, taking a sip before turning my attention back to her.

"Yeah, I know. I'm over here for something else entirely."

Her thin brow arches, and she asks, "Well, what is it you want from me, then?"

Smiling, I take another sip of the _strong _punch, seriously whoever poured the vodka was a little heavy-handed. "This is about whichever one of your lackeys is fucking with Elena. Get him under control before he gets staked."

With a last meaningful look at the small vampiress, I turn to find wherever my war council has gone.

_I really hope they haven't left yet._

*

Being unsuccessful in my endeavor to find my besties, I finally pop a squat at one of the tables. I unfortunately didn't own flats or saddle shoes, so I was out here in stilettos and _boy _did it make my thighs _work. _And this is coming from someone who works out on a persistent basis.

I feel a large hand touch my shoulder, and I look up to see my favorite meatball, Tyler Lockwood, smiling brightly down on me.

Smiling back, I gesture for him to take the seat next to me, which he does happily. He'd been doing much better altogether without Vicki here, and I was once again very glad that I had just shipped her off instead of killing her. Tyler's mind was at peace just knowing that Vicki was getting help, and I couldn't help but wonder if baby Gilbert was, too.

"Hey there, Lessia. Long time, no see! Where's my favorite girl been?" He asks, pretty dark eyes flashing mischievously.

I roll my eyes, trying to fight the smile on my face, "Trust me, if I told you, you'd throw me in a looney bin. But in less silly news, me and Bons left Grams' house."

Tyler's handsome face gets serious, "Everything's okay, right? Like, I remember you telling me about her drinking problem.. I mean, I know I'm not good at this kinda emotional stuff, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

_My heart. It **MELTS**._

I wrap my arm around his muscular torso, giving him a tight side hug. Really, if anyone in this town has changed for the better due to having my influence, it's him. Sure, he's totally still a tool to a lot of people, but he's a lot more caring towards his friends. I lean my head against his letterman jacket-clad shoulder, and smile as he rubs my shoulder comfortingly.

It's just nice to be reminded every once in a while that I'm doing this for a _reason_.

"What's actually going on with you, Alessia? You haven't been this tense since our middle school play," Ty asks softly, and for a brief moment, I kinda wish I could tell someone about everything.

The memories, the supernatural, _everything _that I was working to prevent. But, that would put other people in significant danger, and would also only serve as to put a giant target on my back for every baddie heading toward this town.

I needed to buck up, because the start of all this is _nothing _compared to what's coming, and I need to be smarter than any piece on the board to come out of this with my squad alive.

"Don't worry, TyTy," I reply with a sigh, "I've got everything under control."

———

I spy Elena talking on her phone in the middle of the dance floor, looking around in a very manic manner, and I can't help but wonder why no one asks if she's alright. Instead, the brunette doppelgänger runs out of the door.

_Guess Anna couldn't rein him in. _

Standing up, I smile at Tyler, who I had been sitting in a comfortable silence with for a few minutes.

"I'll be back in a sec, I left something in my locker that I need to take back to Care's."

He nods, giving me a mock salute, and I turn away to head towards the cafeteria. Elena would only be running for her life for a couple minutes, so I had time to head over there.

The quiet, dark hallways are ominous enough, and I can see how this all sent Elena into a panic. If I was human with nothing to really protect myself, I'd panic, too. Opening the doors to the cafeteria, I smile a bit in relief that no one is here yet. I pop a squat on one of the lunch tables, pulling out my phone to see if anyone's messaged me in the last hour.

Oh, two messages.

—

**From: **Anna Banana

**Msg: **tried my best. He's all yours

—

**From: **Care Bear

**Msg: **Hey me and B left. See you at home! I want all the deets l8r

—

Welp, guess that all puts me in the clear. I hear the rush of footsteps heading my way, and cross my legs as they approach. I had to absolutely _nail_ this dramatic entrance, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be in my top five of my life.

Elena crashes through the door, Stalker hot on her heels, and her doe eyes widen cartoonishly as they take in the sight of me. I see relief first, then fear.

"Alessia! _Get away, he's-!!"_

I cut her off with a wave my hand and he falls to the floor clutching his head. It wasn't hard to make his blood vessels in his head pop repeatedly at this point. He groans in agony on the floor as Elena jumps back from his collapsed form. Her eyes are wide, and kinda scared when she looks at me, and I honestly can't tell who the fear for at the moment.

Then, the brothers Salvatore burst in the room like superheroes, quickly assessing the scene. Stefan rushes over to Elena's side, looking her over for bumps and bruises. The elder Salvatore whistles lowly, walking over to the stalker before kicking him hard in the stomach.

"Very _good_, Aly Cat," Damon calls back as he breaks a mop in half, stabbing the makeshift stake through his stomach, "You never cease to be useful."

_What a compliment._

I release said vamp from the migraine, and he groans loudly as he sits up on his knees.

_Ugh, he smells like a sewer rat. _

The broody Salvatore finally releases Doppelena, instead turning his bright, _angry, _emerald gaze to the offending vamp. He walks up to the rat and twists the stick in his stomach _hard. _

_Ooooo, that's **hot**._

I pause that train of thought immediately.

_No, Alessia. Violent tendencies are **not** attractive. Violent tendencies are **not** attractive. _

The elder Salvatore takes a seat next to me on the table, apparently letting Stefan head the interrogation.

"You feel like talking now?" He asks him in a hard voice, and the creep scoffs in return.

"_Screw you._"

Stefan sighs, his eyes cold and harsh, before he steps back and kicks the stake further into his gut, causing him to cry out.

"_Wrong _answer_._"

_Oh, come on. You __**know**__ that's hot. _

_It's problematic and probably a symptom of trauma— but it's hot._

"Why are you doing this?" Stefan continues, bending down to meet the creep's eye level. I should be concerned that violence is apparently a turn on for me, but oh well.

"Because it's _fun._"

Cue another twist of wood, and I see Damon smirk in my peripheral. I don't know what it's for precisely, but I'd like to think it's some pride at how brutal his younger brother is being.

Elena, on the other hand, is clearly a bit disturbed at seeing her boytoy in his element, but doesn't say anything.

Stefan snarls, and I can see him getting visibly annoyed with the twit.

"What do you want with Elena?" He growls out, and I fight the shivers rolling down my spine at his threatening tone.

_I need a therapist. THER-A-PY._

"She looks like Katherine," the vampire replies coolly.

The tension in the room grows significantly at the mention of the much more _wily_ doppelgänger, and I audibly groan.

"Just how _many_ guys did Katherine have a thing with?"

Damon snaps his head towards me, glaring at my blunt question— but, I continue to explain myself anyway, "_What? _The way you guys told the story, it was just you two. _I'm_ the confused one here."

Rolling his ice blue eyes, Damon looks like he's about to snark at me, but the douchebag beats him to the punch.

"Oh," the vampire huffs, "you thought you were the only ones. You don't even remember me."

_What a blow to the ego._

Also, no offense KitKat— but, if I had both the Salvatores, I'd keep my standards higher than this tool. Like, shouldn't your harem just build in attractiveness at that point? You know what, normal people don't think stuff like this.

Damon is finally interested in what's going on, and he quickly acts on his gut hunch.

"Tell us how to get in the tomb, hm?"

_Did I never tell him that I had the grimoire?_

Another twist of flesh confirms my worries as the dude shouts out, "The grimoire!"

"Where is it?" Damon asks, but I stop this gravy train before it goes off the tracks.

"WAIT!" I yell, waving my hands urgently to get their attention. All eyes turn to me, some suspicion in them. "D, I already _have_ the grimoire. No side adventures necessary."

Damon raises a suspicious brow at me, and I glare back at him.

"Don't you _look_ at me like that, Salvatore," my cheeks puff in annoyance, "I just forgot to bring it up, but, it's Emily's. I have it."

He pierces me with his stare for a few moments, probably listening to see if I'm lying, before turning back to the vamp. I can see his brain turning, trying to decide whether I'm trustworthy enough to just take at my word.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Anna's dark head poking through the slim door window.

_Come on, D. I haven't let you down yet._

A smirk appears on his handsome face, and he bends down to the douchebag's eye level beside Stefan.

_Ugh, of course._

"Well, I guess you're unnecessary, then."

There's a harsh wet _crunch _as Damon stabs the other half of the mop through the vampire's chest cavity, and Elena gasps audibly as his corpse hits the linoleum. I can't find it in me to be too grossed out. Not when Damon has shown that he actually trusts me to help him.

In fact, I'm feeling pretty warm and tingly.

Stefan rolls his pretty green eyes at Damon's antics, and I can see the doppelgänger is quickly spiraling into a panic.

"W-What do we— How are you gonna find who he was working with _now?!"_ She stutters out in her descent to madness.

Damon looks unamused as he crosses his arms in his leather jacket, "He had to die. Also, he was annoying."

Elena blinks at him, horrified. I hop off the table, walking over to stand next to Damon and watch the doppelgänger's meltdown— but quickly get bored with it.

She mewls, "B-but.."

I cut her off, not really in the mood for theatrics when my feet are _screaming _to get out of these shoes.

"Elena. You let the douche into your house. _Think."_

She glares at me as she tries to control her breathing, and I roll my eyes.

_Dumb ass is gonna get herself killed if she ignores everything I say just because she doesn't like me._

We all stand together in silence for a few moments, letting Elena digest that someone just died— when we hear a sudden noise from outside. Glancing up, I see the familiar face of Alaric Saltzman eerily glide past the small window in the door. _Unsurprising. _

Damon immediately tenses up, and Stefan nods at him to go and wipe the memory of the very vervained teacher. He vanishes with his vamp speed, and I sigh.

I need to go to _bed. _

I'm going to have blisters tomorrow.

———

Elena went to go grab her purse from the dance drop-off, and it left me and the Salvatore brothers alone in the hallway.

Damon leaned up against the wall before musing out loud, "There's no _way_ that idiot was working alone."

Stefan glances up, and I can't tell exactly what he's thinking. Probably about how he's going to stab his brother in the back.

_Alessia does not approve of that message._

"So, the _grimoire," _The younger Salvatore starts, thick brows furrowed, "That's what you need to reverse the spell?"

I glance up at them both, paying attention to their expressions. Damon's eyes have grown colder, but he still smiles impishly at his brother as Stefan walks closer.

"When the founding families burned her, they took her things, and _you _were hoping that Dad's journal would tell you where it is," Stefan infers correctly.

_Man, the witch-hunts were a **bad** time to be alive._

"Look at you, putting the pieces together," Damon mocks, "Good for you. But, lucky for me, my favorite witch already has it. So, you can kick rocks, Stefan."

The blue eyed vampire pauses briefly, putting a finger up to his lips in mock-thought, "Unless you're trying to get in our way. In that case, let the games begin."

Stefan's eyes look almost earnest as he replies, "My offer still stands."

What a talented liar.

"Yeah, with some hidden caveats, no doubt," Damon bites back, clearly still unhappy with Stefan trying to starve him to death last week.

I don't blame him, I'd be pretty pissed with Bons over it, too.

"No," Stefan placates, and I have to admire his lying skills. I don't know how he's good at lying to his brother, but so bad at lying to Klaus later on. Oh, well.

Stefan continues to gaze at Damon, eyes unmoving, "Nothing hidden about it. No lies. No deception. I'm there when you open that tomb, you and Katherine go, and the other twenty-six vampires die."

Damon's got his game face on, clearly looking for Stefan to slip up and reveal his intentions, "If I agree?"

"I'll help you."

The elder Salvatore's eyes grow hard, and it's kinda hard to watch two brothers who _want_ to hate each other so badly. It was kinda sad.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm your brother."

_Oh, come on, Stefan,_ I think as I roll my eyes, _You both know **that** won't do._

"No— that's not gonna cut it," Damon states the obvious.

Finally, Stefan's eyes look completely genuine as he says, "Because, I want you _gone_."

This gives Damon pause, making him look over Stefan for a few moments before glancing at me. I look back, hopefully communicating with my eyes that I have no idea whether this is a good deal or not. Turning back to Stefan, Damon takes a deep inhale, clearly pushing aside some valid trust issues in his desperation to get to Katherine.

"Okay."

And that word hurts me, because I know just how badly it might backfire.

_This shit is way more of a tire fire in person._

_———_


	18. Eighteen

**Anagapesis: **_def. _no longer feeling any affection for someone you once loved

———

**Chapter 18: I'm Going To Hell With A Smile.**

———

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you've all been waiting for.

It had been two days since the stalker incident— a.k.a. the night of the full moon— and, I was _pumped. _

No one had been kidnapped this time around. Instead I got a breakfast with Anna and gave her the rundown of what exactly would happen during the ritual, and where she should be when it does.

This kinda felt like a save point in a really difficult video game— or maybe more like a boss battle. It had been insanely stressful trying to keep everything from going to shit, and a small part of me was worried how long I could stand trying to stop these idiots from getting us all killed.

Rubbing the knot on my back that was the evidence of my stress, I look back down at Emily's grimoire.

Grams wasn't involved, me and Bons had all the power we needed thanks to Emily's talisman, the grimoire was present, Damon was here. Hell, even Anna was around (albeit in the woods, hidden like I suggested), and we were ready to go.

In all essence, I have done a _fantastic _job.

Nobody useful was dead, no one was kidnapped, everything had been going smoothly as me and Bons set up in the cool, damp cavern.

At least, that _was _the case until Stefan and Elena showed up..

With _Grams._

Blinking once, then twice— as if maybe if I do it hard enough she won't actually be here— I'm a bit frozen.

Bonnie is the first one to react.

"What the _hell _is my grandma doing here, _Elena?!_"

Grams flinches a bit at how Bonnie doesn't call her 'Grams', but I can't help being extremely _angry _that Stefan brought her here.

Elena stutters out, "W-we thought it'd be a good idea to bring extra witch power."

_Fucking lying bitch. They brought her so she could either convince us to trap Damon, or do it herself._

Bonnie is livid, face red and hands clenched, and she looks like she's about to maul the doppelgänger.

"_And you thought bringing my elderly, **alcoholic** grandmother was a good idea?!!"_ Bons snarls.

Doppelena looks like she's about to cry, but my glare is fixed hard and heavy on Stefan Salvatore. He doesn't look away, accepting my anger— and in a weird way, it makes me that much _more_ pissed off. I suddenly feel a large, cold hand on my shoulder, and I turn to see a face on Damon that I've never seen before.

It's a face that's _pleading _with me to just let him into the cave. Let him go inside and break his own heart.

Jesus Christ, this is a mess.

_Everything's gonna be okay, stay focused._

I realize that I have been breathing heavily, and Damon's blue eyes pierce mine once again. It helps me find my ground.

Turning back to the unwelcome three, I roll my eyes, blowing out a large sigh and pinching my nose in annoyance.

"_You,_" I scold harshly, pointing at my Grams and making her wince at my cold tone, "are going to waitright up against that fucking wall until we're done. We don't _need _your help— and you're not a stupid witch, so you know that you're not healthy enough to do this spell with us. If you _really _want to help next time, _quit **fucking** drinking."_

The cavern is silent momentarily, before Grams steps forward, her eyes showing she's going to be as stubborn as I am at the moment.

"You are both too young to attempt this. You are trifling with powers you don't understand!"

"I am _well_ awareof the powers I trifle with!" I snap back, not in the mood to be talked down to by someone who knew _nothing_. "You _will _either stay on that wall or out of this cave. If I have to use force, _I will._"

Grams' dark eyes widen in shock, stunned that I'd even threaten her over this, but I meant what I said. If me and her went toe_-_to-toe right now, I'd win, no questions asked. She was out of practice, old, and unhealthy. Her connection to nature was feeble at best, and she would not beat me.

Suddenly, I feel a warm, small hand clasp mine tightly.

I turn to see Bons, who glances at me momentarily before turning her steely gaze back to Grams.

"I will, too," she affirms, glued to my side.

We three Bennett women all stand in tense silence, realizing just how serious this had become. How _unfixable _things could turn out if Grams didn't stand down.

This was a mess.

"You.. You would _threaten _me? The one who's raised you? Done nothin' but _loved _you and _taught _you?"

The stubborn old woman's gaze then turned bitter and cold.

"I have done _everything _for you both. I have _loved _you. I took care of you when your parents walked out, gave you a home and food to eat. Now, because I've taught you what I know, you use that knowledge _against me? _Fine, then. If you children wish to defy me— you can go on and get yourselves killed. Be on your own. But, do not expect me to save you."

_Better gone than dead._

And with that, me and Bonnie's last family member left.

I watched as she slowly ascended up the staircase, not even looking back at us.

First mom, then dad, and now _her. _

Grinding my teeth, I can't look away from the stairwell Grams has ascended— so, instead I squeeze Bonnie's hand tight, and will back the tears threatening the corners of my eyes. The personal problems were swelling like a tsunami, and the faster we got this stupid fucking ritual done, the sooner I could be there for Bonnie, who's hand was trembling in my own.

_It'll always be **Bonnie** and **I**. Always has been, always will be._

Glancing around the room, I see an odd trio of reactions to what has occurred. Elena has her hand clasped over her mouth in shock, Stefan looks increasingly pained, as if I was jiffy-popping his brain, and Damon looks like he has seen something that spooked him.

_Gotta love when family business turns into everyone's business. _

Squeezing Bons' hand twice, I let go, turning back to Damon and the ritual.

"Let's get this over with."

Grabbing the butane lighter, I look to start lighting the torches, but realize that they are already burning bright. _Stupid witch emotions. _I roll my eyes before tossing the lighter over my shoulder, instead turning to Bonnie, who looks like she's trying her best to hold it together as she reads back over Emily's grimoire.

_I wonder if I look the same._

Deciding to just ignore my emotions for the next thirty minutes, I go into 'logical' mode, instead starting to prep the rest of Nature's Altar.

This particular altar is used to give a bit of permanence to a witch's spell in certain situations. It consisted of basically a little pile of rocks and crystals, toss some water onto it, and four lit torches facing north, south, east, and west.

_Air, Water, Fire, and Earth. A witch's basics._

Pulling out the jug of water I had out of my backpack, I toss it over the rock pile.

"Wait, isn't that just your water bottle? Isn't it supposed to be blessed, or something?" Elena asks, apparently recovered from the situation, but not reading the room properly.

"Water is water, Elena," I reply with a roll of my eyes, putting my water back and instead grabbing Emily's talisman.

The rush of power it sends through me gives me goosebumps, and despite my now very bad mood, it was electric and brought a small smile to my face. No pressure on her end of the barrier, and it made me feel a slight bit of relief. Although, not much considering the ritual hadn't been completed yet.

Holding the talisman tight in my palm, I turn to face Bonnie who's standing in the center of the pentagram. I give her a small, sad smile.

_I'm sorry, Bons. _

She gives me one back as I walk towards her, grabbing my hands softly while maneuvering to clasp Emily's necklace as well.

_Me too, Lessy._

Closing my eyes, I focus on my magic; swirling, tumultuous, and finally calm as I take a few deep breaths.

There'd be time to fall apart later.

Breathing slowly, my magic slowly swirls to connect with Bonnie's, and once again I feel a sense of comfort. Bonnie was always easy to be with. I could only hope that she found comfort in me as much.

_"Phasmatos Salves Nas Ex Malon, __Terra Mora Vantis Quo Incandis, Et Vasa Quo Ero Signos."_

Bonnie and I continue this chant over and over.

While in the deep hum of my meditative state, I could vaguely hear the Salvatores and Elena chatting, but it was nothing compared to the roar of the earth. The constant shifting of plates and swirling magma, the ocean's push and pull, the wind's mighty howl. Emily's talisman is _truly_ a magnifier, and I almost feel as if I am _one _with nature as we continue our spell.

Then, I feel the strain.

The glass ceiling that was supposed to stop this spell from being fully completed, and Bonnie and I push our magic hard against it. Even withthe talisman, it was proving to be quite difficult, and I had started to think we might not succeed until it budged slightly. Cracking like a windshield, the ancient spell shattered, and I could _feel_ its strength being released. It was such a rush that it made my eyes snap wide open.

Blinking rapidly, my eyes meet Bonnie's olive greens, and I can see that this ordeal was just as difficult for her judging by the matching sheen of sweat on her forehead and matching rough breathing.

We'd done it.

Rushing over to her, I squeeze her _tight _and she immediately reciprocates just as tightly_. _We had done _such_ a good job.

Releasing Bonnie, I turn to Damon with happy, yet tired eyes.

"It's _open_, D."

His gaze is bright enough to make the stars jealous, and there is barely even a hint of doubt in his crystalline blue eyes. It almost makes it worth it, until I remember what's about to happen.

Damon stares at me, a bit in disbelief, before nodding and turning to his brother, "We got some fires to build."

The green eyed god nods, looking to Elena.

"I'm gonna get some gasoline, I'll be right back."

Glancing up at him, I wave my hand to catch the younger Salvatore's attention before he leaves, and he arches a thick brow in question.

"You mind taking her with you? Bons and I gotta talk for a sec."

He immediately assumes it's about Grams and promptly grabs Elena's hand, ascending the staircase without another word.

_Well, he's wrong. _

Glancing around the 'room', I realize that Damon has entered the tomb without making a peep. It makes me smile that he didn't feel the need to take a hostage. I must've really proven myself trustworthy to him.

I start to whistle the tune of 'We're Off To See The Wizard,' and Bonnie and I are unsurprised when Anna appears in the tomb.

She looks like she's about to speak— but, Bons lifts a finger to her lips, tilting her adorable head over to the large stone door with the pentagram carved on it. I then mouth, 'fifteen seconds' and receive a quick nod from her in return. Anna disappears, and I hope that Damon is too distracted trying to find Katherine to hear them getting her mother.

Hearing another _whoosh _of air blow through, I smile.

_Flawless. _

Stefan and Elena appear a few minutes later, all smiles and blushes, and I feel myself get a bit angry that they thought they were off the hook for _ruining my relationship with my grandmother._

Oh no, I'd be paying them both back for that.

That's when I hear something that makes my heart _ache_.

"_SHE'S NOT **HERE**!!" _

Closing my eyes tightly in an attempt to erase the absolute _anguish _that I hear in Damon's voice, I feel a wisp of air fly past as Stefan rushes into the tomb.

Elena, of course, starts to panic.

"What's going on?! Alessia, what did you do??"

_The real question is what **didn't** I do._

Bonnie immediately snaps back, "Why do you automatically assume it's her fault? Why do you _always _do that?"

Because, Elena always needs someone to blame. That's the simple answer, anyway.

I smile at my sister's protective nature over me, placing a hand on her shoulder as I gesture to the cavern entrance, letting her know I'm going to go in and finish the job.

Or, at least make sure it gets finished.

Bending down and grabbing a flashlight off of the dusty ground, I quickly make my way through the rock cavern, looking for Stefan and Damon. After passing by several desiccated vamps, I find the pair at the very end of the dark, damp corridor, Stefan standing very stiffly besides his brother.

Damon is a mess.

There's blood all over the wall where he's splattered the blood bag that was _supposed_ to be Katherine's— and Damon looks like he doesn't know whether to scream, cry, break something, or break _down. _

I see that some of the blood has appeared in scarlet spats on his face, and that's when he notices I'm there.

His blue eyes are wide, surprised, and overwhelmingly broken-hearted.

Damon stares me down, and I don't know whether he's looking to see if I had something to do with this, or looking for comfort in a place he isn't sure has some.

Never being good at dealing with emotions, I stuff my hands in my pockets, slowly walking towards him and keeping eye contact.

Damon's blue eyes are so _angry _and _hurt_ and I don't know how to fix it. So, instead, I grab the small plastic pack of Kleenex out of my jeans, pulling a tissue out of the plastic folding as I get close enough to touch him.

I hope my gaze is soft and compassionate, but I'm unsure as Damon breathes hard in front of me, barely keeping his broken heart together as his blue eyes stay locked on mine. Oh, wow. How angry a broken-hearted man looks.

I wipe off the stray blood with the Kleenex awkwardly before tossing it onto the cave floor, giving him a weak smile— and he looks briefly stunned.

"Today is _not _our day, Damon," I sigh, opening my arms in an offer for a hug, "Mind being my fake boyfriend for a sec? I need _emotional_ support."

I knew Damon wouldn't take my pity directly, but if instead we were just both sad together, I was pretty sure it'd leave his cracked pride intact.

He glares at me momentarily, and I decide right then and there that if he pushes me away, it won't bother me too much. Instead, he runs a shaky hand through his lofty black hair before battening down the hatches on his facial expressions, instead giving me a weak smirk.

"You send _awfully _mixed messages, Alessia," He sighs, but his voice is thick with emotion as he pulls me right into his strong arms.

I feel his shaky breath as he tries to get a hold on his intense emotions, burying his nose in my hair. My fingers tighten around the leather on his back, and I hold him just as tightly against me, whispering in his ear.

"_I'm so, **so** sorry, Damon._"

And, I honestly am.

———

Damon had let me go after a few seconds, realizing his brother was still there and was looking shocked, before quickly putting on his 'Damon the Dick' hat.

We three proceeded to burn the rest of the corpses, me double-checking afterwards that we'd gotten all of them.

It was a very long night, and both me and my sister were mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. So, here we sat in the car, not having moved since we parked it in front of Caroline's house fifteen minutes ago.

It was all so surreal. Sure, Grams wasn't dead, but she wanted nothing to do with us after our disobedience, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was like this in the original timeline.

Was I too harsh?

_No_.

Grams would've kept trying to be part of the ritual if I had said anything less, and I had no idea whether or not our ancestors had attempted to reach out to her. I knew for a fact now, that if Grams had to choose between us and our ancestors— she'd choose them.

My heart ached.

Just how many times would me and Bons be left behind?

The inherent feeling of nostalgic childhood 'I'm bad, so it's my fault' guilt comes in broad strokes, and I feel a torrent of tears spill down my cheeks. I didn't know whether it was worse to have her dead, or have her alive and want nothing to do with us.

Everything just felt so _complicated_, because while I did blame myself for how the evening had gone down, I was also angry because Grams wasn't blameless either.

She lied to us.

She neglected us.

She drank all the time.

She left me, a child, to take care of Bonnie.

She and our parents were the reason me and Bonnie were bullied by the founding families growing up.

She _**left**_.

I look to my left to check on Bons, and see she's in a similar state of heartbreak once again.

_Just how many times would we go through this cycle?_

She sniffles, glassy green eyes spilling tears down her honey cheeks, and her lips tremble.

"Lessy, is there something _wrong_ with us?"

Reaching over the console, I grab her hand and squeeze it comfortingly with a weak smile.

"Nah, Bons. We just have really shit Bennett luck."

She wipes her face as she chuckles sadly.

"Do you think she meant what she said?" Bons asks me quietly.

"I don't know," I reply, turning to look out the windshield as more tears roll down my cheeks.

"But, if she did, don't worry, B. It's gonna be me and you till the end of time."

Bons squeezes my hand even tighter as she holds back her sobs.

What a strong little Bennett witch.

———

**_A/n: Hi all! Hope you enjoyed this sad chapter, it wasn't super easy for me to write, but it was important for what I have planned for the Bennett witches. Don't worry, this isn't me shoddily writing Grams out of the story. She'll be back sooner than you think._**

———


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